UC-NRLF 


2714  5^fl 


Secrets 


Victory 


CARRIE  JUDO  MONTGOMERY 


I 
1 


GIFT  OF 


Secrets 


Victory 


By 
JUDDlMONTGOMERY 


Compiled  by 
SADIE  A.  CODY 


Ttys  is  the  Victory.  .  .  .even  our  faith." 
1  Jobn  5:4. 


Office  of 

Triun)phs  of  Faith, 
Beulah  H 

Oakland, 

California, 

1921. 


Introduction. 


About  nine  years  ago  I  became  associated  with 
Mrs.  Carrie  Judd  Montgomery  in  her  precious  work 
for  the  Lord  at  Beulah  Heights,  Oakland,  California. 
During  these  years  her  Bible  Lessons,  given  in  the 
Home  of  Peace,  Beulah  Chapel  and  Ebell  Hall, 
have  been  the  means  of  growth  and  enrichment  to  my 
spiritual  life,  and  through  the  knowledge  of  Jesus 
Christ  thus  gained,  I  have  been  enabled  to  stand  in 
the  hardest  battles  and  "see  the  salvation  of  the  Lord." 

As  these  Bible  Lessons  have  gone  out  through  the 
Triumphs  of  Faith,  letters  have  poured  in  from  all 
parts  of  the  world  expressing  the  fact  that  they  had 
been  blessed  of  God  to  a  great  many  others,  as  they 
had  to  me,  and  there  were  continual  pleas  for  different 
editorials  to  be  put  into  tract  form  .  As  it  was  im- 
possible for  us  to  comply  with  these  requests,  I  began 
asking  God  how  this  crying  need  for  spiritual  help 
might  be  met,  and  one  day  He  put  in  my  heart  this 
thought  of  selecting  a  number  of  the  most  helpful 
editorials  and  publishing  them  in  book  form.  This 
little  book  is  sent  out  under  our  Heavenly  Father's 
direction  and  is  followed  with  much  prayer  that  its 
messages  may  bring  comfort,  inspire  faith,  and  lead 
into  a  blessed  and  victorious  life,  all  who  read  its 
pages. 

SADIE  A.  CODY. 
Beulah  Heights,  /***u 

Oakland,  Calif.  Ultt 


Table  of  CoQteQts. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Full  Redemption  for  Spirit,  Soul,  and  Body 7 

CHAPTER  II. 
Joint-Death  and  Joint-Life  With  Christ 14 

CHAPTER  III. 
"I  Have  No  Need  of  Thee" 19 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Some  Secrets  of  Faith 22 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Hearing  Ear » . . .     29 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Enriched  of  God 35 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Different  Degrees  of  Faith 39 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Divine  Healing  as  Related  to  Our  Tongue  ......     48 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Outpouring  of  God's  Spirit 54 

CHAPTEP  X. 
The  Sin  of  Discouragement 62 

CHAPTER  XL 
Thou  Art  Loosed   67 

CHAPTER  XII. 
United  by  Faith  to  the  Promises 75 


Table  of  CoQteQts— CootiQued. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
"He  Rendered  Not  Again" So 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
"Whatsoever  He  Doeth  Shall  Prosper" 86 

CHAPTER  XV. 
"Let  This  Mind  Be  in  You" 93 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Some  of  the  Hindrances  to  Healing 98 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
Members  of  Christ's  Body 106 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
Diligent  Hearkening •. 1 10 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Cast  Not  Away  Your  Confidence 119 

CHAPTER  XX 
"Neither  Murmur  Ye" 126 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
God's  Mercy  to  Those  Who  Humble  Themselves  130 

CHAPTER  XXII, 
The. Promise  of  the  Father 136 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
Separated  Unto  God 144 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
A  Message  for  God's  Tried  Ones 150 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
The  Sin  of  Unbelief 155 

CHAPTER  XXVI.  r|l 
The  Lord  Making  a  Difference 163 


FULL  REDEMPTION  FOR  SPIRI^ 


CHAPTER  I. 
Full  Redemption  for  Spirit,  Soul  and  Body. 

This  morning  we  will  look  at  a  few  texts  on  the 
subject  of  REDEMPTION.  First,  let  us  consider 
what  redemption  means :  it  is  to  buy  back.  We  might 
get  an  idea  of  its  meaning  from  the  following  illus- 
tration: a  person  becomes  poverty-stricken,  and  he 
takes  an  article  which  he  has  long  valued,  to  the  pawn- 
shop, where  he  receives  a  sum  of  money  on  it,  but 
not  its  full  value.  The  person  receives  a  ticket  from 
the  pawnbroker  and  when  he  is  able  to  do  so  he  can 
go  and  buy  back  the  article,— redeem  it.  We  were 
in  the  Devil's  pawnshop,  but  Jesus  came  and  by  His 
precious  blood  redeemed  us  out  of  it.  When  an  ar- 
ticle is  bought  back,  or  redeemed,  it  does  not  belong 
any  longer  to  the  pawnbroker.  If  we  can  see  by 
faith  that  the  Lord  Jesus  has  redeemed  our  bodies 
as  well  as  our  souls,  we  need  not  stay  in  the  Devil's 
pawnshop  and  let  him  put  sickness  upon  us. 

We  will  look  first  at  Psalm  107:2.  "Let  the  re- 
deemed of  the  Lord  say  so,  whom  He  hath  redeemed 
from  the  hand  of  the  enemy."  Read  the  whole  of 
the  Psalm,  when  you  have  time,  and  see  how  beauti- 
fully the  thought  of  redemption  is  brought  out.  No- 
tice that  it  says,  "Let  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  SAY 
SO."  Dear  ones,  when  we  realize  that  we  are  re- 
deemed, He  wants  us  to  say  so,  so  that  we  will  let 
our  light  shine.  The  Lord  tells  us  that  a  lighted 
candle  is  not  to  be  put  under  a  bushel,  but  to  be  put 
on  a  candle-stick  so  that  it  may  give  light  to  all  that 
are  in  the  house.  He  wants  us  to  shine  as  lights  in 
this  dark  world.  If  God  gives  you  light  on  His 
Word,  you  must  immediately  let  it  shine  into  some 
other  life.  If  you  cannot  preach  to  large  audiences,, 
or  give  Bible  lessons  in  public,  you  can  go  to  one 
person,  who  is  needing  help,  and  give  him  the  light. 


*  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

Someone  has  said  that  all  the  darkness  of  the  world 
cannot  put  out  the  smallest  light. 

Perhaps  you  have  not  sufficient  grace  yet  to  testify 
in  a  meeting  like  this,  but  you  certainly  know  of  sick 
and  weary  ones  about  you,  to  whom  you  could  give  a 
testimony.  "The  humble  shall  hear  thereof  and  be 
glad."  There  are  many  humble  souls  who  will  re- 
ceive your  testimony  gladly.  People  sometimes  say 
to  me,  "Oh,  if  I  had  known  this  blessed  truth  of 
Divine  Healing  before  my  mother  or  my  sister  died; 
but  I  knew  nothing  about  it."  No  one  had  told 
them!  How  sad  it  is  that  so  many  healed  ones  fail 
to  let  their  light  shine. 

Turn  next  to  Isaiah  35  :g.  "No  lion  shall  be  there, 
nor  any  ravenous  beast  shall  go  up  thereon,  it  shall 
not  be  found  there ;  but  the  REDEEMED  shall  walk 
there."  It  is  well  to  look  at  the  8th  verse  to  get  the 
connection;  it  tells  us  about  a  wonderful  highway, 
upon  which  the  redeemed  are  to  walk.  "A  highway 
shall  be  there  and  a  way,  and  it  shall  be  called  The 
way  of  holiness ;  the  unclean  shall  not  pass  over  it ; 
but  it  shall  be  for  those:  the  wayfaring  men  though 
fools,  shall  not  err  therein."  We  are  not  told  that  a 
man  must  be  very  wise  or  experienced  in  order  to 
walk  on  that  highway  of  holiness,  but  it  is  for  those 
who  believe  God's  Word,  and  who  trust  in  His  full 
redemption.  "No  lion  shall  be  there  nor  any  ravenous 
beast... but  the  redeemed  shall  walk  there."  How 
sweet  to  realize  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Himself  is  that 
wonderful  highway  of  holiness,  for  He  said,  "I  am 
the  WAY."  Beloved,  a  highway  is  not  private 
grounds.  No  one  has  a  right  to  put  up  a  sign  on  a 
highway  and  say,  "This  belongs  to  me,  and  to  no  one 
else."  If  we  trust  fully  in  Jesus  He  leads  us  along 
that  highway.  He  dwells  in  us,  and  walks  in  us, 
and  lives  out  His  blessed  holy  life  in  and  through  us. 
But  He  tells  us  that  we  are  to  come  out  from  the 
world  and  be  separated  unto  Him.  We  are  to  take 
one  step  at  a  time  with  Him,  being  led  by  the  blessed 
Holy  Spirit  who  has  been  sent  to  guide  us  into  all 
truth,  and  to  teach  us  all  things.  What  a  lovely  place 


FULL  REDEMPTION  FOR  SPIRIT,  SOUL  AND  BODY    9 

to  walk  in,  His  highway  of  holiness !  There  are  many 
of  God's  little  ones  who  do  not  know  an  overcoming 
life.  But  the  Lord  is  able  to  save  all  of  His  redeemed 
ones  TO  THE  UTTERMOST,  so  that  we  shall  be 
full  overcomers  in  our  daily  lives,  hour  by  hour,  mo- 
ment by  moment.  Even  when  things  seem  to  go 
wrong,  our  Lord  is  able  to  keep  us  in  perfect  peace 
through  the  power  of  His  indwelling  Spirit.  The 
Word  says,  "Great  peace  have  they  which  love  Thy 
law,  and  nothing  shall  offend  them."  If  you  con- 
tinually feed  upon  the  Word  of  God,  and  keep  filled 
with  the  power  of  His  Word,  NOTHING  shall  offend 
you.  Oh,  what  wonderful  peace  is  ours  when  the 
living  Christ  within  us  meets  every  difficulty,  and 
overcomes  every  temptation,  and  nothing  disturbs  our 
peace.  If  you  should  find  at  any  point  that  you  get 
offended,  it  is  proof  you  do  not  sufficiently  love  God's 
Word,  for  it  is  those  who  love  God's  law  (His  Word) 
who  are  to  be  kept  in  perfect  peace.  Do  not  get 
discouraged  at  your  failures,  but  remember  that  the 
blood  atones  for  all  your  sin ;  only  press  on  to  get  the 
Word  of  God  deeper  down  in  your  heart.  The  Lord 
has  promised  that  the  redeemed  shall  walk  on  that 
way  of  holiness,  so  you  can  claim  your  right  to 
walk  there  'because  you  have  been  purchased  by  the 
precious  blood  of  the  slain  Lamb. 

Now  read  Isaiah  43:1.  "But  now  thus  saith  the 
Lord  that  created  thee,  O  Jacob,  and  He  that  formed 
thee,  O  Israel,  Fear  not:  for  I  have  redeemed  thee, 
I  have  called  thee  by  thy  name;  thou  art  Mine." 
Many  people  would  be  glad  to  pay  a  large  sum  of 
money  if  they  could  be  relieved  of  their  sin  and 
sickness  by  this  means;  many  would  be  glad  to  pay 
for  it  if  they  could  be  delivered  from  fear.  But 
He  who  formed  us  and  redeemed  us  says,  "Fear  not, 
for  I  have  redeemed  thee."  It  is  so  sweet  to  hear 
Him  call  us  by  name  and  say,  "Thou  art  Mine"  In 
the  roth  chapter  of  St.  John  the  Lord  tells  us  that 
He  calls  His  own  sheep  by  name  and  leadeth  them  out. 
The  trouble  is  that  many  of  God's  children  do  not 
keep  close  enough  to  the  Shepherd;  they  are  not 


io  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

intimate  enough  with  Him  to  hear  Him  calling  them 
by  name.  I  once  heard  a  missionary,  who  had  spent 
many  years  in  Palestine,  say  that  some  of  the  old 
.sheep  which  had  followed  the  shepherd  a  long  time, 
followed  so  closely  that  he  had  seen  them  planting 
their  feet  right  in  the  very  tracks  of  the  shepherd. 
We  must  be  filled  with  God's  Word  in  order  to  hear 
the  Shepherd's  voice;  not  merely  some  favorite  pas- 
sages at  intervals,  but  we  must  live  by  every  word 
of  God.  Notice  the  promises  in  Isaiah  43:2,  for 
these  are  the  redeemed  ones  spoken  of  in  the  first 
verse:  "When  thou  passest  through  the  waters  I 
will  be  with  thee ;  and  through  the  rivers,  they  shall 
not  overflow  thee:  When  thou  walkest  through  the 
fire  thou  shalt  not  be  burned;  neither  shall  the  flame 
kindle  upon  thee." 

We  will  now  read  Psalm  103  :3,  4.  "Who  for- 
giveth  all  thine  iniquities ;  who  healeth  all  thy  diseases ; 
who  redeem  eth  thy  life  from  destruction ;  who 
crowneth  thee  with  lovingkindness  and  tender  mercies ; 
who  satisfieth  thy  mouth  with  good  things;  so  that 
thy  youth  is  renewed  like  the  eagle's."  Beloved,  you 
can  have  just  as  much  of  that  as  you  will  take;  it 
is  all  in  heaven's  bank  for  you,  and  yet  how  little  of 
our  inheritance  do  we  take  from  the  hand  of  our 
bountiful  Heavenly  Father.  "Who  redeemeth  thy 
life  from  destruction."  The  enemy  would  destroy 
us,  but  the  Lord  redeems  us  from  his  destructions. 
The  Lord  even  puts  a  crown  upon  our  heads,  com- 
posed of  loving  kindnesses  and  tender  mercies  plaited 
together.  Think  of  the  crown  of  thorns  which  was 
placed  upon  our  blessed  Saviour's  head;  what  a  con- 
trast to  the  crown  He  weaves  for  us !  Sometimes  we 
do  not  trust  His  love  when  we  see  a  thorn  woven  in 
with  our  blessings;  perhaps  we  murmur,  but  let  us 
trust  and  praise  Him  and  we  will  see  at  last  that 
it  is  really  a  loving-kindness.  He  is  weaving  a  beau- 
tiful pattern  of  grace  and  glory  through  our  lives, 
but  often  we  see  only  the  wrong  side  of  the  pattern 
and  know  not  what  He  is  working  out.  If  we  will 


FULL  REDEMPTION  FOR  SPIRIT,  SOUL  AND  BODY  n 

refuse  to  murmur  and  will  rest  in  His  never-failing 
love,  some  time  we  shall  be  so  glad  that  we  trusted 
Him. 

We  are  told  in  Malachi  3:10,  n,  that  if  we 
bring  all  the  tithes  into  the  storehouse,  the  Lord  will 
open  the  windows  of  heaven  and  pour  out  such  a 
blessing  that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to 
receive  it:  and  He  adds,  "I  will  rebuke  the  devourer 
for  your  sakes."  If  you  are  wholly  given  to  Him, 
then  you  can  claim  this  promise  and  believe  that 
you  are  redeemed  from  the  curse  of  the  law.  In  the 
28th  chapter  of  Deut.  you  will  notice  a  list  of  bless- 
ings, and  also  a  very  long  list  of  curses,  which  were 
to  be  the  result  of  disobedience  to  God's  law.  Among 
these  curses  are  mentioned  all  kinds  of  diseases,  so 
we  see  that  sickness  is  a  part  of  the  curse.  Some 
one  may  say,  "I  have  broken  God's  law,  therefore 
the  curse  must  belong  to  me."  Yes,  it  did  belong 
to  you  and  me,  but  on  Calvary  it  was  transferred 
from  us  to  Jesus,  the  dear  Lamb  of  God,  and  He 
drank  the  bitter  cup  and  redeemed  us  from  the  curse 
of  the  law.  We  read  in  Matthew  8:16,  17,  that  He 
healed  all  that  were  sick,  in  order  to  fulfil  that  which 
had  been  spoken  by  Isaiah,  saying,  "Himself  took 
our  infirmities  and  bare  our  sicknesses."  He  bore 
our  sins  and  He  also  bore  our  sicknesses  in  bearing 
the  curse  of  the  broken  law.  In  Gal.  3:13,  we  read, 
"Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law, 
being  made  a  curse  for  us  for  it  is  written,  'Cursed 
is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a  tree/ '  Thus  we 
see  that  there  is  now  no  more  curse  for  us;  and 
Christ  Himself  is  all  we  need.  Not  merely  some 
blessing  which  He  bestows,  but  HIMSELF,  for  our 
spirit,  soul  and  body.  He  has  redeemed  us  to  God 
by  His  blood ;  and  there  has  been  a  change  of  priest- 
hood and  a  change  of  the  law.  See  Heb.  7:15-19. 
No  more  the  Aaronic  priesthood ;  but  Christ's  priest- 
hood is  after  the  "order  of  Melchisedec ;"  and  the 
law  of  the  new  priesthood  is  "after  the  power  of  an 
endless  life."  We  need  not  be  in  bondage,  for  Christ 
has  fulfilled  all  the  law  for  you  and  me,  and  we  are 


12  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

now  made  free  by  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in 
Christ  Jesus.  He  wants  us  for  channels  through 
which  He  can  pour  His  life;  His  praise  life,  His 
prayer  life,  His  love  life,  yes,  and  His  healing  life. 
Do  you  say  it  is  too  good  to  be  true?  Ah  beloved, 
it  is  not  too  good  to  be  true,  for  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  has  made  it  all  true  for  us  by  His  death  and 
resurrection.  Ask  the  dear  Holy  Spirit  to  make  it 
real  to  you,  for  it  is  He,  who  takes  of  the  things  of 
Jesus  Christ  and  shows  them  unto  us.  He  tells  us 
to  yield  ourselves  unto  God  as  those  that  are  alive 
from  the  dead,  and  if  you  will  give  Him  all  you  are 
and  all  you  have,  He  will  give  you  all  of  heaven's 
fulness.  Think  of  it!  He  offers  in  exchange  for 
your  little,  paltry  all,  the  abounding  riches  of  His 
heavenly  storehouse ;  will  you  make  the  exchange  ? 

Let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  I  Peter  i  :i8:  "For- 
asmuch as  ye  know  that  ye  were  not  redeemed  with 
corruptible  things,  as  silver  and  gold . . .  but  with  the 
precious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  Lamb  without 
blemish  and  without  spot."  We  hear  of  many  false 
religions  in  these  days  that  deny  the  precious  blood 
of  Jesus.  Remember,  beloved,  that  the  Bible  says, 
"Without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission  of 
sins."  Not  only  is  the  blood  of  Jesus  shed  for  our 
salvation,  but  our  Lord  Jesus  told  His  disciples  that 
unless  they  ate  His  flesh  and  drank  His  blood  they 
would  have  no  life  in  them.  Some  of  His  followers 
could  not  understand  this,  and  many  of  them  re- 
fused to  longer  walk  with  Him.  Beloved,  you  can- 
not reason  these  things  out,  but  receive  the  wonderful 
sayings  of  Christ  into  your  heart  and  let  the  light 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  illuminate  them,  and  He  will  make 
it  all  clear  to  you.  We  are  told  in  I  Cor.  1 1 129,  30, 
that  many  were  weak  and  sickly  among  them,  and 
many  slept  (died)  because  of  their  failure  to  discern 
the  Lord's  body.  As  we  wait  on  Him  today  He  will 
teach  us  how  to  eat  His  flesh  and  drink  His  blood  by 
faith.  He  has  told  us  that  His  Words  are  Spirit 
and  Life,  and  if  we  do  not  feed  much  upon  the  Word 
of  God  we  may  some  day  find  ourselves  like  Samson 


FULL  REDEMPTION  FOR  SPIRIT,  SOUL  AND  BODY  13 

when  he  had  lost  his  strength  and  did  not  know  it. 
If  you  do  not  keep  filled  with  the  Word  of  God  you. 
will  some  day  have  a  severe  trial  to  face,  and  you  will 
find  that  you  have  not  the  needed  faith  to  take  you 
victoriously  through  it.  Testimony  meetings  are  very 
precious  in  their  place,  but  we  must  remember  that 
the  foundation  of  all  true  praise,  as  well  as  of  prayer, 
must  be  the  Word  of  God.  "Faith  cometh  by  hearing 
and  hearing  by  the  Word  of  God/'  Study  God's 
Word  from  cover  to  cover,  and  ask  the  Lord  to  give 
you  a  hearing  ear,  in  order  that  you  may  hear  His 
voice  through  the  Word.  God  is  saying  to  us  today, 
"He  that  hath  an  ear  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit 
saith  unto  the  Churches." 

"Neither  by  the  blood  of  goats  and  calves,  but  by 
His  own  blood  He  entered  in  once  into  the  Holy 
place,  having  obtained  ETERNAL  REDEMPTION 
for  us."  Heb.  9:12. 


14  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  II. 
Joint-Death  and  Joint-Life  With  Christ. 

How  blessed  is  the  truth  of  our  perfect  identi- 
fication with  Christ,  as  brought  out  in  the  Scriptures. 
As  we  realize  this  more  and  more  fully,  we  come  by 
faith  into  right  relations  with  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
He  is  able  to  work  in  us  "to  will  and  to  do  of  His 
good  pleasure."  I  have  recently  been  greatly  in- 
terested in  this  truth  as  brought  out  in  Rotherham's 
translation  of  the  New  Testament.  We  will  look  to- 
gether at  portions  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  in 
the  6th  and  8th  chapters ;  and  also  Colossians  2nd 
and  3rd  chapters.  This  literal  translation  makes  the 
truth  more  clear  than  our  ordinary  King  James'  ver- 
sion. In  Romans  6:4  we  read,  "We  were  jointly- 
buried  therefore  with  Him,"  and  again  in  the  5th 
verse,  "For  if  we  have  come  to  be  of  joint-growth 
in  likeness  of  His  death,  certainly  we  shall  be  in  that 
of  His  resurrection  also."  The  effect  of  our  Joint- 
death  with  Christ  is  brought  out  in  the  6th  and  7th 
verses,  "Of  this  taking  note,  that  our  old  man  was 
jointly-crucified,  in  order  that  the  body  of  sin  might 
be  made  powerless,  that  no  longer  should  \ve  be  in 
service  to  sin.  For  he  who  died  has  been  righteously 
acquitted  from  sin."  Of  course  these  thoughts  are 
not  new  to  us,  but  this  translation  makes  them  very 
clear  and  pointed,  so  that  we  are  brought  to  a  greater 
realization  of  what  it  means  to  be  jointly-crucified, 
and  jointly-risen  with  Jesus.  Since  our  old  man  was 
crucified  with  Jesus,  at  the  very  time  that  He  was 
crucified,  we  may  begin  at  once  to  gloiry  in  this  fact 
by  faith,  and  to  plead  the  precious  blood  which  com- 
pletely separates  us  forever  from  any  connection  with 
our  old  nature.  This  has  been  wrought  out  by  Christ 
on  His  cross. 

He  has  made  us  legally  and  actually  free  from 


JOINT-DEATH  AND  JOINT-LIFE  WITH  CHRIST     15 

"our  old  man,"  but  in  order  for  us  to  enjoy  our 
freedom.,  we  must  see  by  faith  that  this  is  an  actual 
fact,  and  accept  it.  As  soon  as  we  get  a  clear  view 
of  what  the  death  of  Christ  has  done  for  us,  we  are 
made  free  from  sin,  and  are  no  longer  in  service  to 
sin.  God  has  not  only  acquitted  us  from  sin  through 
Christ's  death,  but  also  through  Christ's  resurrection. 
He  has  wrought  out  for  us  an  entirely  new  life,  which 
has  no  connection  with  the  old.  We  read  in  the  8th 
verse,  "But,  if  we  jointly-died  with  Christ,  we  be- 
lieve that  we  shall  also  jointly-live  with  Him."  God's 
word  tells  us  that  "He  was  delivered  for  our  offenses, 
and  raised  again  for  our  justification."  Through  His 
death,  our  debt  to  the  law  has  been  paid,  and  through 
His  resurrection,  we  are  brought  into  a  new  life; 
even  the  life  of  the  Son  of  God.  And  if  we  abandon 
ourselves  fully  to  His  life,  for  spirit,  soul  and  'body, 
we  shall  live  a  life  of  holiness  and  victory.  We  read 
in  Romans  7,  that  we  have  "received  full  release  from 
the  law"  and  are  married  to  Christ,  through  whom 
we  are  to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God.  In  proportion 
as  we  recognize  these  mighty  truths  in  our  own  in- 
dividual experience,  we  shall  be  lifted  up  into  the 
liberty  of  Christ,  and  know  the  fullness  of  His  life, 
for  spirit,  soul  and  body.  In  Romans  6:12,  the 
literal  Greek  of  mortal  body,  is  "death-doomed  body." 
Under  the  penalty  of  the  law,  our  whole  being  is 
"death-doomed,"  or  in  other  words,  we  have  "the 
sentence  of  death  in  ourselves,"  (II  Cor.  1:9).  In 
Romans  8:11,  we  read  that  the  "indwelling  Spirit" 
within  us  makes  alive  even  our  death-doomed  bodies; 
or  as  it  is  in  the  King  James'  version,  "If  the  Spirit 
of  Him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead,  dwell 
in  you,  He  that  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead, 
shall  also  quicken  (make  full  of  life)  your  mortal 
bodies,  by  His  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  you."  We  have 
all  of  us  known  in  a  measure  how  to  reckon  ourselves 
dead  to  sin  and  alive  unto  God,  through  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  Jesus,  but  it  is  our  privilege  also 
to  count  ourselves  dead  to  sickness,  and  to  experience 
the  constant  quickening  life  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  our 


16  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

mortal  bodies.  As  we  receive  spiritual  life  for  spirit 
and  soul,  according  to  our  faith,  so  we  may  receive 
a  lesser  or  fuller  measure  of  the  Christ-life  in  our 
bodies,  according  to  our  faith.  And  yet  this  marvelous 
life,  manifested  in  our  mortal  bodies,  is  to  be  wrought 
out  in  a  body  which  "always  bears  about  the  dying  of 
the  Lord  Jesus."  Look  at  2  Cor.  4:10,  n;  in  both 
of  these  verses  we  read  of  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS 
BEING  MADE  MANIFEST  IN  OUR  MORTAL 
FLESH ;  and  we  also  read  in  both  verses  about  the 
death  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  unto  which,  our  body  is 
always  delivered.  So  as  long  as  we  are  in  this  world 
we  shall  have  the  Christ-life  manifested  in  a  "death- 
doomed  body/'  "but  though  our  outward  man  perish, 
yet  the  inward  man  is  renewed  day  by  day."  (2  Cor. 

4:i6). 

These  truths  are  very  deep  and  wonderful,  and 
can  only  be  apprehended  as  they  are  revealed  to  us 
by  the  Spirit  of  God.  We  have  known  those  who  have 
put  all  the  emphasis  on  the  daily  dying,  but  they  must 
not  forget  also  to  put  a  mighty  emphasis  on  the  life 
of  Christ,  which  is  to  be  made  manifest  in  our  bodies, 
here  and  now  in  the  midst  of  mortal  weakness.  As  we 
glory  in  our  infirmities,  the  power  of  Christ  shall  so 
rest  upon  us,  as  to  swallow  up  and  bring  to  naught 
those  very  infirmities.  The  next  consideration  is  the 
joint-witness  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  of  which  we  are 
told  in  Romans  8:16,  "The  Spirit  itself  is  JOINTLY- 
WITNESSING  with  our  spirit  that  we  are  the  chil- 
dren of  God."  Only  those  who  know  this  blessed 
joint-witness  of  the  Spirit,  can  understand  its  sweet- 
ness and  power.  We  believe  God,  and  "he  that  be- 
lieveth,  hath  the  witness  in  himself/'  but  Another 
comes  to  witness  with  our  spirit,  as  we  continue  believ- 
ing and  praising.  This  witness  of  the  Spirit  comes 
to  us  as  regards  salvation,  sanctification  and  also  in  as- 
surance of  the  healing  of  the  body,  even  before  pain 
and  weakness  have  been  taken  away.  Again  in  the 
1 7th  verse  we  are  told  that  we  are  CHRIST'S  JOINT- 
HEIRS.  He  has  said  to  us,  "All  things  are  yours, 
and  ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's."  Since  we  are 


JOINT-DEATH  AND  JOINT-LIFE  WITH  CHRIST    17 

joint-heirs  with  Christ,  all  that  He  has  is  ours,  and  as 
He  has  promised  to  supply  all  our  need,  we  may  by 
faith,  draw  upon  our  inheritance  day  by  day,  for  spirit, 
soul  and  body,  according  to  all  that  we  may  need. 
But  to  the  condition  of  being  joint-heirs  is  added,  "if 
*t  least  we  are  JOINTLY-SUFFERING,  in  order 
that  we  may  be  also  JOINTLY-GLORIFIED."  "The 
sufferings  of  the  present  season"  are  then  said  to  be 
nothing  compared  with  the  coming  glory  which  shall 
be  revealed  through  us.  As  we  get  a  glimpse  of  the 
coming  glory  through  the  revelation  of  the  Spirit  we 
know  that  this  is  indeed  true,  and  we  are  glad  to  suf- 
fer rejection  and  persecution  with  our  blessed  Lord, 
"esteeming  the  reproach  of  Christ,  greater  riches  than 
the  treasures  of  Egypt." 

The  next  thought,  in  the  22nd  verse,  is  that  all 
creation  is  JOINTLY-SIGHING  and  JOINTLY* 
TRAVAILING  with  us  "who  have  the  first  fruit  of 
the  Spirit,"  and  who  are  "ardently  waiting  for  adop- 
tion,— the  redeeming  of  our  body."  For  when  the 
sons  of  God  are  revealed,  "even  Creation  itself  shall 
!>e  freed  from  the  servitude  of  corruption  into  the 
freedom  of  the  glory  of  the  children  of  God/'  (Verse 
*i).  In  the  26th  verse  we  read  that  the  Spirit  "is 
giving  help  in  our  weakness/'  and  that  He  "is  MAK- 
ING INTERCESSION  WITH  SIGHINGS  UN- 
UTTERABLE/' How  precious  to  realize,  not  only 
the  help,  but  the  sweet  sympathy  of  the  blessed  Spirit 
of  God,  who  sighs  in  and  through  us  His  unspeakable 
prayers  in  our  behalf.  If  we  sigh  with  unspeakable 
sorrow,  much  more  does  HE  breathe  His  sighings 
through  us  for  deliverance. 

We  will  look  for  a  few  moments  at  Colossians  2nd, 
and  3rd  chapters.  In  chapter  2:12  we  read  of  "being 
jointlyj-buried  with  Him,"  and  "also  jointly-raised 
through  the  faith  of  the  inward  working  of  God.  who 
raised  Him  from  among  the  dead."  In  verse  13,  "HE 
JOINTLY  MADE  US  ALIVE  TOGETHER  WITH 
HIM"  In  chapter  3:1  the  argument  is  brought  forth 
that  if  we  were  jointly-raised  with  Christ,  we  must  be 
seeking  the  things  on  High,  where  Qirist  is.  In  verse 


1 8  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

3  we  read,  "for  ye  died  and  your  life  has  become  hid, 
jointly  with  the  Christ  in  God/'  Our  life  at  present  is 
a  JOINTLY-HIDDEN  life  in  Christ.  As  He  is  hid- 
den in  God,  so  are  we  hidden  with  Him.  That  hidden 
life  is  only  made  manifest  in  our  spirit,  soul  or  body 
as  we  have  faith  for  Him  to  reveal  it  in  and  through 
us.  The  time  is  coming,  and  we  believe  it  will  be 
soon,  when  Christ  shall  be  made  manifest,  or  revealed, 
and  the  sons  of  God  shall  be  revealed  with  Him. 
Therefore  we  read  that  "whensoever  the  Christ  may  be 
made  manifest,  your  life,  then  ye  also,  jointly  with 
Him,  shall  be  made  manifest  in  glory."  What  that 
JOINT-GLORY  will  be  with  Christ,  heart  does  not 
know,  and  imagination  cannot  perceive,  but  He  has 
said  in  His  High-Priestly  prayer,  "and  I  have  given 
to  them  the  glory  which  Thou  hast  given  to  Me/'  and 
again,  "I  desire  that  wherever  I  am  they  also  may  be 
with  Me,  that  they  may  behold  My  glory  which  Thou 
hast  given  to  Me."  Thus  we  see  that  in  everything, 
from  first  to  last,  we  are  joined  to  our  precious  Re- 
deemer. God  grant  that  we  may,  even  now,  apprehend 
as  never  before,  what  this  means,  that  we  may  have  the 
first-fruits,  even  here  and  now,  of  this  marvelous  in- 
heritance. Let  us  absolutely  refuse  and  reject  all  the 
old  life,  which  has  been  delivered  up  to  death  on  the 
cross  with  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  let  us  draw  our  life,  for 
spirit,  soul  and  body,  every  day,  and  every  moment 
from  "CHRIST  WHO  IS  OUR  LIFE!-'  ' 


"I  HAVE  No  NEED  OF  THEE"  19 


CHAPTER  III. 
"I  Have  No  Need  of  Thee." 

"And  the  eye  cannot  say  unto  the  hand,  /  have  no 
need  of  thee :  nor  again  the  head  to  the  feet,  /  have  no 
need  of  you.  Nay,  much  more  those  members  of  the 
body  which  seem  to  be  more  feeble  are  necessary.  That 
there  should  be  no  schism  in  the  body,  but  that  the 
members  should  have  the  same  care  one  for  another." 
i  Cor.  12:21,  22,  25.  We  have  been  much  imipressed 
of  late  with  the  truths  contained  in  the  verses  just 
quoted.  The  members  of  our  physical  body  are  all 
dependent  upon  the  head,  and,  thus  directed,  they  work 
together  in  beautiful  order  and  harmony.  But  we 
find  many  members  of  the  Lord's  body  who  are  not 
filled  sufficiently  with  His  love  to  be  able  to  thus  work 
together  in  Divine  unity.  This  sad  condition  of  things 
causes  schism  in  the  body,  and  as  a  result  we  find 
all  sorts  of  spiritual  sickness  and  also  sickness  of  the 
body.  In  i  Cor.  1 1 130,  we  read,  "For  this  cause  many 
are  weak  and  sickly  among  you,  and  many  sleep."  By 
reading  the  previous  verses  we  see  that  this  cause  of 
sickness  and  untimely  death  is  the  failing  to  discern 
the  Lord's  body  in  the  Holy  Communion  of  His  body 
and  blood.  And  linked  closely  with  this  failure  to 
discern  Christ's  mystical  body,  is  the  failure  to  discern 
Him  in  His  members,  for  we  read  in  the  next  chapter, 
"Now  ye  are  the  body  of  Christ,  and  members  in  par- 
ticular/' (i  Cor.  12:27). 

In  these  solemn  days  one  of  the  deepest  lessons 
God  is  seeking  to  teach  His  little  ones  is  that  they  are 
ABSOLUTELY  DEPENDENT  U;PON  EACH 
OTHER  IN  CHRIST,  just  as  the  members  of  the 
natural  body  are  dependent  upon  each  other.  This 
truth  is  illustrated  by  the  text  at  the  head  of  this 
article.  "The  eye  cannot  say  unto  the  hand,  /  have 
no  need  of  thee:  nor  again  the  head  to  the  feet,  7  have 


20  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

9to  need  of  you."  It  is  not  a  question  of  MAY  NOT, 
but  "CANNOT."  It  is  an  impossibility  for  us  to  be 
in  health,  or  in  right  working  order  in  the  body,  if  we 
have  the  disposition  to  say  such  things  to  the  other 
members.  So  as  an  outward  indication  of  the  inward 
sickness,  the  Lord  allows  sickness  of  the  body  to  come. 
If  we  will  earnestly  inquire  as  to  the  cause  of  such 
sickness,  and  our  failure  to  receive  speedy  healing,  and 
if  we  will  "diligently  hearken"  to  God's  answer,  we 
shall  often  hear  Him  say,  "You  have  not  had  Divine 
love  for  that  other  member  of  My  body.  You  have 
been  willing  My  body  should  be  torn  rather  J:han  to 
humble  yourself  in  forgiving,  tender  love  toward  that 
other  member.  You  have  been  saying  in  your  heart, 
if  you  have  not  put  it  into  words,  'I  have  no  need  of 
that  brother  or  sister :  let  them  go  their  way.  I  have 
nothing  actually  against  them,  but  I  have  no  fellow- 
ship with  them/  In  fact  you  have  been  saying  just 
what  the  Word  of  God  says  you  cannot  say  to  another 
member,  'I  have  no  need  of  thee/ ' 

Beloved,  you  would  not  say  that  about  one  of  the 
members  of  your  own  physical  body.  If  you  had  a 
very  sore  finger  you  would  not  be  willing  that  it  should 
always  be  sore,  even  though  your  other  fingers  would 
try  to  do  its  work.  No,  you  would  say,  I  must  have 
that  finger  healed.  My  body  will  not  be  a  perfect  body 
if  that  finger  continues  sick,  or  crippled,  or  if  it  has  to 
be  cut  off.  And  thus  our  blessed  Lord  feels  about 
His  body,  of  which  you  are  a  part.  HE  has  need  of 
every  member,  and  so  in  His  love  you  must  feel  that 
YOU  too  have  need  of  every  one.  With  this  love  in 
your  heart  for  a  sick  member  of  Christ's  body 
(spiritually  sick)  there  will  spring  up  prayer  and  in- 
tercession that  God  will  heal  their  backslidings,  be- 
cause He  and  you  have  need  of  them. 

The  Word  goes  on  to  tell  us  that  those  very  mem- 
bers that  seem  to  be  "more  feeble"  are  "necessary." 
How  many  feeble  members  we  find  everywhere !  And 
how  the  strong,  self-reliant  members  often  feel  tempt- 
ed to  "push  them  out  of  the  way,  as  though  they  were  of 
no  use.  But  when  we  are  filled  with  the  love  of  Christ 


"I  HAVE  No  NEED  OF  THEE"  21 

we  say  with  Him,  "These  members  are  necessary,  sol 
must  try  to  take  care  of  them  and  help  them  maintain 
their  position  in  the  body."  These  "feeble"  members 
are  necessary  because  they  help  to  draw  out  the  love 
and  compassion  of  the  other  members. 

We  read  that  God  has,  "tempered  the  body  to- 
gether" in  such  a  way  that  there  should  be  no  schism 
in  the  body,  but  that  the  members  should  have  "the 
same  care  one  for  another."  Oh,  that  love-care  for 
each  other,  suffering  with  the  other  members,  rejoicing 
with  the  other  members !  How  wonderful  too  when 
we  are  taught  to  do  this  by  the  Holy  Ghost !  We  are 
living  in  solemn  and  wonderful  days  and  in  the  midst 
of  all  the  seeming  confusion  among  the  people  of  God, 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  preparing  a  people  who  will  be  ready 
at  the  coming  of  Christ.  Among  this  select  company 
there  will  surely  be  no  one  who  does  not  love  the  other 
members  of  Christ's  body  with  a  pure,  intense,  Heav- 
enly love.  And  we  believe  that  in  order  for  our  phys- 
ical bodies  to  be  preserved  unto  translation  it  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  us  to  have  that  love  which  dis- 
cerns the  Lord's  body  in  His  members.  Satan  will 
spend  his  rage  in  trying  to  attack  the  bodies  of  God's 
saints  in  order  to  leave  none  of  them  on  the  earth  to  be 
caught  up  to  meet  the  Lord. 

The  way  of  Divine  healing  has  always  meant  a 
close  walk  with  God,  but  it  will  mean  this  more  and 
more  "as  we  see  the  day  approaching."  It  is  not 
merely  a  question  of  having  grudges  one  against  an- 
other ;  that  will  be  quite  impossible  for  those  who  are 
going  all  the  way  with  God,  following  the  Lamb  whith- 
ersoever He  goeth.  But  we  must  also  be  delivered 
from  the  spirit  of  independence  which  would  make 
us  say  to  another  member,  "I  have  no  need  of  thee" 
If  you  are  ill,  today,  beloved  reader,  and  you  have  had 
a  little  of  this  spirit  of  independence  in  your  heart, 
ask  God  to  forgive  it,  and  then  send  for  that  very 
member  toward  whom  you  had  that  feeling  and  ask 
him  or  her  to  pray  for  you.  Unless  there  is  something 
else  in  the  way,  undoubtedly  Christ's  life  and  love  will 
flow  between  you  both,  and  you  will  be  healed  at  once. 


SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Some  Secrets  of  Faith. 

"Faith  is  *  *  *  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen!' 
Heb.  11:1. 

In  speaking  of  the  faith  of  Abraham,  the  Word  of 
God  tells  us  that  he  was  made  "like  unto  Him  (mar- 
gin) whom  he  believed,  even  God,  who  quickeneth 
the  dead,  and  calleth  those  things  which  be  not  as 
though  they  were"  (Rom.  4:17).  This  attitude  of  call- 
ing those  things  which  be  not  as  though  they  were  is 
faith,  and  this  only  is  faith.  That  which  waits  to  see  be- 
fore it  believes  is  not  faith ;  it  is  nothing  but  rank  unbe- 
lief. God  has  promised  to  honor  faith,  but  He  cannot 
honor  unbelief  because  it  dishonors  Him.  Why  do  we 
need  such  constant  teaching  on  this  line  ?  Because  our 
whole  nature  is  opposed  to  God's  way  of  faith.  Not 
so  when  it  comes  to  exercising  the  same  principle  of 
faith  toward  man,  because  we  do  this  continually  in 
our  transactions  with  each  other;  otherwise  business 
could  not  exist  as  it  does  today.  All  the  business  of 
this  world  is  based  on  a  similar  principle  of  faith,  but 
as  the  natural  man  is  at  enmity  with  God',  he  refuses 
thus  to  believe  God,  when  it  is  God's  word  he  is  re- 
quired to  take  instead  of  man's.  Now  we  have  a  nat- 
ural power  to  exercise  faith,  but  in  order  to  exercise 
faith  God-ward  the  blood  of  Jesus  must  cleanse  us 
from  sinful  unbelief,  and  the  power  of  God's  Holy 
Spirit  quicken  us  to  believe.  Through  sin  our  whole 
race  has  been  filled  with  unbelief  toward  God.  Noth- 
ing but  the  blood  of  His  cross  can  cleanse  away  this 
unbelief,  but,  praise  God,  this  sin  has  been  borne  for 
us,  the  same  as  every  other  sin,  and  we  may  be  made 
free,  so  that  our  whole  soul  shall  flow  forth  to  God 
in  living  faith.  Abraham  had  this  faith  and  we  are 
exhorted  to  walk  in  the  steps  of  that  faith  of  our 
Father  Abraham.  Since  God  expects  us  to  do  this,  and 


SOME  SECRETS  OF  FAITH  23 

commands  us  to  do  it,  He  will  give  us  the  enabling. 
Man  makes  to  us  a  promise,  and  we  thank  him  as  soon 
as  the  promise  is  made,  before  we  have  the  slightest 
indication,  other  than  his  word,  of  its  being  accom- 
plished. How  many  of  us  thus  thank  God  on  His 
promise  alone  before  we  see?  We  find  this  same 
principle  of  faith  brought  out  in  Mark  11:24:  "There- 
fore I  say  unto  you,  what  things  soever  ye  desire, 
when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye  receive  them,  and  ye 
shall  have  them."  At  the  moment  of  prayer,  as  we 
plead  God's  promises,  we  are  to  believe  that  God  gives 
the  answer,  and  THAT  HE  CAUSES  THE  THING 
WHICH  DOES  NOT  EXIST,  TO  COME  INTO 
EXISTENCE  IN  ANSWER  TO  OUR  FAITH. 
Not  that  He  will  do  it,  but  that  He  does  the  work  at 
that  instant,  and  as  we  keep  praising,  He  will  mani- 
fest to  us  that  which  He  has  already  wrought.  Of 
course  there  are  important  conditions,  which  are  well 
known  to  my  readers,  and  which  we  name  briefly,  in 
i  John  5:14-15:  "And  this  is  the  confidence  that  we 
have  in  Him,  that  if  we  ask  anything  according  to  His 
will,  He  heareth  us,  and  if  we  know  that  He  hear  us, 
whatsoever  we  ask,  we  know  that  we  have  the  peti- 
tions that  we  desired  of  Him." 

God  could  not  work  this  faith  in  our  hearts,  if  we 
were  not  asking  according  to  His  will,  so  it  is  most 
necessary  that  we  search  His  word  and  be  perfectly 
sure  about  His  will  and  then  we  shall  have  confidence 
that  He  hears  us,  and  know  that  He  grants  our  peti- 
tions. 

It  may  be  a  help  to  my  readers  if  I  here  give  some 
personal  testimony,  and  relate  how  God  first  led  me  to 
understand  this  principle  of  Divine  faith.  At  the 
time  of  my  miraculous  healing  when  a  young  girl,  very- 
little  was  heard  about  Divine  healing.  Dr.  Chas. 
Cullis  had  published  some  accounts  of  healing  in 
answer  to  prayer  (which  I  had  not  then  read)  and 
this  is  all  the  literature  on  the  subject,  so  far  as  I 
know,  which  had  then  been  printed  in  this  country. 
I  was  utterly  untaught  in  the  things  of  God,  except  as 
the  Spirit  had  been  striving  with  my  heart  to  cause  me 


24  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

to  yield  all  to  God.  It  was  evidently  His  design,  not 
only  to  raise  me  by  a  miracle  from  my  bed  of  suffer- 
ing and  helplessness,  but  also  to  teach  me  the  way  of 
faith,  that  I  might  help  others.  The  teaching  I  re- 
ceived from  Him  in  those  early  days  seems  all  the 
more  wonderful  and  precious  because  it  all  came  di- 
rectly from  Himself,  and  not  from  any  human  teacher. 
I  had  been  brought  up  in  the  Episcopal  church  and 
had  been  confirmed  when  a  girl  of  fourteen,  giving 
myself  to  God  at  that  time  as  best  I  could,  with  a  very 
limited  amount  of  light.  Although  my  father  and 
mother  both  lived  very  Godly  lives,  they  were  quite 
reserved  with  us  in  speaking  of  spiritual  truths.  My 
dear  mother  had  sometimes  related  wonderful  answers 
to  prayer  which  had  come  into  her  life,  and  I  believe 
it  was  really  through  her  deep  inner  life  of  prayer,  that 
God  was  striving  with  me;  but  she  was  at  that  time 
very  timid  about  giving  expression  to  those  things. 
The  time  had  come  in  God's  providence  when  He  de- 
sired to  greatly  revive  the  faith  of  His  people  to  trust 
Him  for  the  healing  of  their  bodies.  His  truth  must 
be  made  manifest,  not  only  in  marvelous  healings,  like 
mine,  but  also  the  teaching  from  the  Word  on  this 
important  subject.  So  at  the  very  time  when  He 
raised  me  from  my  dying  bed,  He  began  to  teach  me 
the  principles  of  Divine  faith,  and  opened  my  under- 
standing to  understand  the  Scriptures  (Luke  24:45). 
His  power  and  condescension  in  doing  this  were  the 
more  marked  because  of  His  taking  one  so  young  and 
rtterlv  untaught  in  the  things  of  God.  This  morning 
before  I  arose  I  was  gratefully  reviewing  these  revela- 
tions of  faith,  as  He  first  showed  them  to  me,  and  felt 
that  He  would  have  me  write  them  for  the  encourage- 
ment and  help  of  others.  At  the  time  of  my  healing  I 
was  so  low  that  I  cot^ld  not  have  listened  to  any  human 
teacher  if  there  h?d  been  one  at  hand,  but  the  dear 
Heavenly  Teacher  could,  and  did.  flash  His  li^ht 
instantaneously  into  mv  mind  and  heart.  While  the 
depr  cnlored  woman  Mrs  Mix,  of  Connecticut,  was 
praying  for  me,  even  before  Braver  had  been  offered  in 
fry  room,  there  came  sudden! v  into  rny  soul  tbe  call 


SOME  SECRETS  OF  FAITH  25 

of  God  to  arise.  At  the  same  instant  there  came  also 
a  Satanic  pressure  that  seemed  to  say  "You  cannot, 
shall  not  arise."  I  seemed  a  battle-ground  between 
the  Power  of  light,  and  the  hosts  of  darkness.  Then 
came  the  teaching  of  God  that  I  must  side  with  Him, 
that  it  was  altogether  my  will  which  would  decide  the 
issue ;  that  if  I  would  put  over  on  God's  side,  my  will, 
He  would  work  in  me  the  victory.  I  could  not  have 
put  all  this  into  words  at  that  time,  but  it  was  wrought 
into  my  inner  being;  as  I  willed  to  believe  and  not 
doubt,  God  wrought  in  me  His  own  faith  and  I  was  en- 
abled to  arise  in  His  name.  The  next  definite  teaching 
on  faith  from  the  Holy  Spirit  was  a  few  moments 
later,  when,  with  a  little  assistance  from  my  nurse,  I 
was  taking  a  few  steps  from  my  bed  to  a  chair.  As 
those  weakened  joints,  which  had  been  rendered  ut- 
terly helpless  by  extreme  hyperaesthetic  conditions 
(from  the  spine),  felt  the  pressure  upon  them,  the 
most  awful  physical  sensations  nearly  overwhelmed 
me  for  an  instant ;  then  quickly  that  sweet  inner  voice 
spoke  again  telling  me  that  I  "must  not  look  at  the 
winds  and  waves/'  or  in  other  words,  my  feelings,  but 
must  look  right  away  to  Jesus.  We  hear  much  on  this 
line  now,  but  I  had  never  heard  one  word  of  such 
teaching,  so  the  Holy  Spirit  alone  was  instructing  me. 
Victory  followed  as  I  obeyed  moment  by  moment,  my 
Heavenly  Guide.  My  healing  was  instantaneous,  but 
strength  came  gradually.  Before  perfect  strength 
came,  while  taking  an  unguarded  step  one  day,  I  fell 
heavily  to  the  floor.  From  long  confinement  to  the 
bed,  my  flesh  was  very  tender,  and  one  knee  was 
bruised  by  the  fall  and  became  so  swollen  and  stiff  by 
the  next  morning,  that  I  could  not  take  one  step.  Then 
the  Lord  taught  me  a  further  lesson  of  faith,  which 
has  been  very  deep  and  lasting.  The  feeling  of  wonder 
and  intense  spiritual  joy  which  accompanied  this  reve- 
lation of  Divine  truth  has  never  been  forgotten.  As  I 
prayed  for  perfect  healing  for  the  bruised  place,  and 
power  to  stand  and  walk  upon  that  limb,  the  truth  was 
flashed  upon  my  heart  by  God  Himself,  "You  have 
asked.  Now  since  God  is  true,  He  has  already  answer- 


26  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

ed,  and  you  have  only  to  TAKE  HIM  AT  HIS 
WORD  and  walk  by  faith,  without  any  fear;  as  you 
do  this  He  will  give  the  enabling,  moment  by  mo- 
ment" I  had  never  known  the  truth  of  Mark  n  -.24, 
but  the  Lord  gave  me  this  Scripture  afterwards  to 
confirm  what  He  had  taught  me  by  His  Holy  Spirit. 
I  felt  that  a  secret  of  God  had  been  whispered  to  my 
soul  straight  from  Heaven.  It  seemed  as  though  no 
one  else  was  possessed  of  this  marvelous  secret,  for 
I  had  never  heard  anyone  speak  of  such  a  thing.  It 
was  blessed  fellowship  when  I  first  found  another  dear 
sister  who  had  been  healed  by  the  Lord,  and  who  had 
had  this  same  revelation.  Of  course,  I  have  since 
found  hundreds  to  whom  this  has  been  made  known. 
"The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  Him, 
and  He  will  show  them  His  covenant." 

How  sweet,  beyond  words,  are  Heaven's  secrets, 
whispered  to  the  obedient  heart.  God  alone  can  com- 
municate these  secrets.  This  was  another  thing  which 
I  learned  in  those  early  days.  I  tried  to  tell  these 
secrets  of  faith  to  a  lady  who  was  seeking  healing.  I 
sought  to  make  it  as  clear  as  possible,  trying  to  clothe 
it  in  logical  words,  but  she  entirely  failed  to  grasp  my 
meaning.  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  she  must  be 
unusually  dull  as  regards  mental  capacity,  and  had  to 
give  up  making  her  understand ;  but  she  was  an  earnest 
soul  and  she  went  to  God  with  her  difficulties.  One 
day  she  came  to  me  with  delight  saying,  "I  have  found 
out  something  new.  The  Lord  has  shown  me  that 
when  I  pray,  I  must  believe  that  then  and  there  I  get 
the  answer,  and  then  He  will  make  it  real  to  me."  I 
was  astonished,  and  replied  "Why !  that  is  what  I  was 
trying  to  tell  you,  and  I  said  that  very  thing  to  you 
over  and  over  again."  She  looked  at  me  in  amazement 
and  said,  "Was  that  what  you  meant?"  In  this  way 
the  Lord  taught  me  that  only  His  own  Spirit  could 
reveal  His  secrets,  and  if  He  chose  to  use  us  as  chan- 
nels of  His  Spirit's  power,  we  would  have  to  learn  the 
truth  contained  in  i  Cor.  2:13,  "Which  things  also  we 


SOME  SECRETS  OF  FAITH  27 

speak,  not  in  the  words  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth, 
but  which  the  Holy  Ghost  teacheth." 

The  Lord  continued  to  open  His  word  to  me  upon 
the  subject  of  reckonings  of  faith,  and  it  is  interesting 
to  remember  that  my  first  editorial  for  the  first  number 
of  Triumphs  of  Faith  (forty  years  ago),  was  entitled 
"Faith's  Reckonings."  This  is  still  published  in  tract 
form,  and  God  continues  to  make  it  a  blessing. 

This  DEAD  RECKONING  ON  THE  WORD  OF 
GOD  is  essential  in  every  position  of  faith.  Are  we 
seeking  justification?  How  can  any  soul  be  saved  ex- 
cept to  stand  upon  some  promise  such  as  "Whoso 
cometh  unto  Me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out,"  and  to 
believe  that  God  saves  him  then  and  there  without 
feeling.  Of  course  that  soul  must  meet  the  conditions 
and  be  willing  to  give  himself  to  God,  and  forsake  sin, 
or  he  cannot  exercise  that  faith.  But  he  first  must 
believe,  and  have  the  witness  in  himself  (i  John  5  :io) 
before  he  can  have  the  witness  of  God's  Spirit. 

How  can  any  soul  be  sanctified,  except  by  this  reck- 
oning of  faith  ?  He  must  yield  all,  be  willing  to  walk 
in  the  light,  and  then  take  God  at  His  word,  that  the 
blood  cleanses  from  all  sin.  As  he  takes  this  position 
without  wavering,  the  Spirit  will  give  the  witness 
within. 

In  the  same  way  we  must  stand  upon  God's  prom- 
ises for  healing  of  our  bodies.  He  says  "I  AM  the 
Lord  that  healeth  thee."  (Ex.  15:26.)  Faith  answers, 
"Thou  ART  the  Lord  that  healeth  me/'  This  is  the 
present  tense,  not  future.  If  we  believe  that  He  meets 
our  faith,  and  does  the  work  at  that  moment,  we  will 
take  the  attitude  of  praise,  instead  of  prayer,  and  count 
every  symptom  as  a  lie  of  the  enemy.  "Let  God  be 
true  but  every  man  a  liar,  that  thou  mightest  be  justi- 
fied in  thy  sayings."  (Romans  3:4.)  When  we  are 
sick  it  is  often  very  hard  to  stand  against  the  repeated 
attacks  of  the  enemy,  but  "God  is  faithful,  who  will 
not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above  that  ye  are  able  to 
bear,  but  will,  with  the  temptation  also  make  a  way  to 
escape."  (i  Cor.  10:13.)  He  often  sends  other  mem- 
bers of  the  body  to  stand  with  us  in  faith,  to  lay  hands 


38  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

upon  us  for  healing  (Mark  16:18)  or  "elders"  to 
anoint  us  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  (James  5: 
14-15).  If,  however,  we  stand  in  a  lonely  place,  and 
have  no  such  help,  He  will  be  our  strong  tower  and 
make  us  "more  than  conquerors."  He  is  praying  for 
us  all  the  time  that  our  faith  may  not  fail,  and  He 
will  never  leave  us  or  forsake  us.  Each  trial  of  faith, 
and  victory  won,  will  make  our  faith  the  stronger,  and 
enable  us  to  help  some  other  struggling  soul.  When 
there  is  no  one  to  lay  hands  upon  you  in  Jesus'  name, 
lay  your  own  hands  upon  your  suffering  body,  in  that 
all-powerful  Name,  remembering  that  you  are  nothing, 
and  that  your  name  is  not  recognized  at  all  in  the 
transaction,  but  that  it  is  "HIS  NAME,  through 
faith  in  His  Name"  that  makes  you  whole.  "And  His 
name,  through  faith  in  His  name,  hath  made  this  man 
strong,  whom  ye  see  and  know ;  yea,  the  faith  which  is 
by  Him  hath  given  him  this  perfect  soundness  in  the 
presence  of  you  all"  (Acts  3:16).  Often  have  I  done 
this,  and  have  proven  again  and  again  that  His  name 
"is  as  ointment  poured  forth."  (Song  of  Sol.  1:3). 
One  other  thought  I  would  bring  before  you,  and  I 
trust  it  may  prove  as  helpful  to  you  as  it  has  to  me. 
We  are  told  in  Mark  11:22,  to  "have  faith  in  God." 
But  the  margin  reads,  "Have  the  faith  of  God."  Again 
in  Gal.  2 120,  we  see  that  we  are  to  "live  by  the  faith  of 
the  Son  of  God."  Jesus  is  the  author  and  finisher  of 
our  faith,  and  He  will  work  His  own  faith  in  our 
hearts.  Let  us  give  up  our  own  poor  attempts  at  faith, 
and  take  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God.  The  Lord  Jesus 
has  faith  in  His  own  power  to  make  good  all  His 
promises.  And  He  will  fill  us  with  this  faith,  so  that 
we,  like  Abraham,  may  be  "strong  in  faith  giving 
glory  to  God,"  and  we  shall  be  "fully  persuaded  that 
what  He  has  promised,  He  is  able  to  perform/' 
(Romans  4:20). 


THE  HEARING  EAR  29 


CHAPTER  V. 
The  Hearing  Ear. 

We  will  take  for  our  subject  this  morning,  The 
Hearing  Ear.  God  wants  to  get  our  closest  attention, 
and  sometimes  we  only  half  hearken  to  Him,  even 
those  of  us  who  love  Him  very  much.  To  illustrate, 
we  speak  to  some  one  in  our  home,  and  we  are  sure 
that  that  one  wants  to  please  us,  and  to  do  our  will, 
but  he  is  inattentive,  and  afterwards  says,  "I  did  not 
hear  you."  Often  a  servant  has  been  careless  about 
listening,  and  has  heard  only  a  part  of  what  we  said, 
and  so  has  done  only  a  part  of  what  we  wanted  her  to 
do.  So  it  is  when  God  speaks ;  we  often  have  a  very 
inattentive  spiritual  ear. 

In  Exodus  15:26,  God  tells  us  that  one  condition 
of  healing  for  the  body  is  to  "hearken  diligently/' 
This  does  not  mean  a  half  hearkening.  We  are  to 
hearken  diligently  to  this  wonderful  Word,  until  we 
hear  God's  voice  speaking  to  us  through  it.  Some 
people  manage  to  exist  on  only  a  part  of  this  Word, 
but  God  tells  us  in  Deut.  8:3,  that  we  are  to  live  by 
EVERY  WORD  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of 
God.  The  more  you  read  this  precious  Word,  trusting 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  open  it  to  you,  the  more  appetite 
you  will  have  for  it. 

In  seeking  healing  for  the  body,  we  must  be  sure 
to  be  healed  in  spirit,  for  there  may  be  roots  of  evil 
that  are  deeper  than  any  physical  disease.  There  may 
be  lack  of  Divine  love,  which  results  in  all  kinds  of 
harsh  words  being  spoken,  or  in  tale-bearing.  We 
read  in  Prov.  18:8,  how  these  words  go  down  into  the 
innermost  part  of  the  being,  and  make  wounds,  and 
this  is  true  not  only  in  the  one  to  whom  they  are 
spoken,  but  in  the  one  who  speaks  them.  The  physical 
trouble  often  has  a  root  that  is  away  back  in  the  past 
life;  perhaps  some  lack  of  love  toward  one  of  God's 


30  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

little  ones.  It  may  have  been  years  ago,  and  you  may 
have  forgotten  all  about  it;  some  unhealed  sore  be- 
tween you  and  another  Christian ;  some  wounding  of  a 
little  one.  Ask  God  to  search  deeply  into  your  heart, 
and  remind  you  if  there  are  any  such  roots.  These 
roots  are  apt  to  come  back  in  the  form  of  sickness. 
You  cannot  search  them  out  yourself,  but  ask  God  to 
do  so,  for  He  is  the  One  who  searcheth  the  heart,  and 
tries  the  reins.  God  tells  us  to  hearken  diligently,  and 
He  will  be  our  Healer.  He  will  search  us  through  and 
through,  and  reveal  the  hindrance,  and  help  us  to  put 
it  away,  by  humble  confession,  and  faith  in  the  blood 
of  Jesus.  You  write  the  humble,  loving  letter  to  the 
one  from  whom  you  have  been  separated.  Do  not  ac- 
cuse them,  even  if  they  were  wrong,  and  you  were 
right,  but  confess  your  own  lack  of  love.  There  must 
have  been  a  lack  of  love,  if  you  sought  your  own 
rights  more  than  you  did  the  soul  of  your  brother. 
God's  Word  says,  "Love  seeketh  not  her  own."  As 
we  humble  ourselves  under  the  hand  of  God,  He  will 
search  out  every  root  of  bitterness  and  of  evil,  and 
will  cleanse  them  away,  and  will  lead  us  in  the  paths 
of  righteousness  for  His  Name's  sake. 

In  Psa.  40:6,  we  read  of  the  .opened  ears:  "Sacri- 
fice and  offering  Thou  didst  not  desire ;  mine  ears  hast 
Thou  opened."  A  portion  of  this  Psalm  is  quoted 
in  the  book  of  Hebrews  as  being  a  prophecy  of  our 
blessed  Lord  Jesus,  but  because  His  ears  were  always 
opened  to  hear  His  Father,  we  through  Him  may  al- 
ways have  the  hearing  ear.  As  we  read  on,  we  see 
an  effect  of  this  opened  ear,  "I  delight  to  do  Thy  will, 

0  my  God:  yea,  Thy  law  is  within  my  hearf."     The 
next  effect  is  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  "I  have 
preached  righteousness  in  the  great  congregation ;  lo, 

1  have  not  refrained  my  lips/'     Many  of  God's  dear 
children  are  not  faithful  to  tell  others  of  the  great  salva- 
tion, and  the  healing  of  the  body,  that  the  Lord  has 
given  them,  and  therefore  they  backslide,  and  often 
lose  the  precious  faith  that  they  had  been  able  to  ex- 
ercise.    Confession,  and  faith  in  the  blood,  will  bring 
restoration.     We  notice  again,  "I  have  not  hid  Thy 


THE  HEARING  EAR  31 

righteousness  within  my  heart;  I  have  declared  Thy 
faithfulness  and  Thy  salvation;  I  have  not  concealed 
Thy  lovingkindness  and  Thy  truth  from  the  great  con- 
gregation/' The  Lord  Jesus  said  in  the  olden  time, 
when  only  one  of  the  healed  lepers  returned  to  give 
thanks,  " Where  are  the  nine?"  What  does  He  say 
now  of  the  many  who  have  been  so  wonderfully  healed 
in  their  bodies  by  His  miracle-working  power,  and 
yet  there  has  been  but  little,  if  any,  effort  to  tell  the 
good  news  out  to  other  suffering  ones?  Now  let  us 
turn  to  Psa.  45:10.  In  this  wonderful  Psalm  we  read 
about  the  King  and  His  Bride,  and  we  read,  "Hearken, 
O  daughter,  and  consider,  and  incline  thine  ear;  for- 
get also  thine  own  people,  and  thy  father's  house;  so 
shall  the  King  greatly  desire  thy  beauty ;  for  He  is  thy 
Lord,  and  worship  thou  Him."  You  say  that  you  de- 
sire to  be  ready  for  His  coming  ?  What  is  He  saying 
to  His  Bride  here?  First,  He  says  to  hearken,  and 
then  to  consider.  He  wants  us  to  turn  away  from 
all  other  voices,  and  hearken  diligently  to  Him,  that 
we  may  not  miss  one  word,  or  one  accent.  He  wants 
us  to  consider  Him,  our  blessed  Bridegroom ;  to  keep 
our  eyes  continually  upon  Him.  If  we  will  do  this 
we  shall  not  have  time  to  consider  the  faults  of  others, 
or  mourn  our  own  lack.  We  will  look  at  Him,  and  will 
remember  that  He  says  we  are  complete  in  Him.  I 
find  so  many  considering  themselves,  and  their  bad 
feelings,  and  they  lose  so  much  precious  time,  when  they 
might  have  been  considering  Him,  and  they  would 
have  been  transformed  into  His  image  while  beholding 
Him,  in  faith. 

I  heard  of  a  man  who  went  to  a  Home  for  the  sick 
in  England,  to  have  prayer  offered  for  his  healing.  He 
talked  continually  about  himself  and  his  symptoms, 
and  this  prevented  him  from  getting  any  hold  on  the 
Lord  for  healing.  At  last  those  who  had  charge  of 
the  Home  told  him  that  he  would  have  to  leave  the 
Home  unless  he  stopped  talking  about  himself,  and 
his  bad  feelings.  They  said,  "You  can  talk  about  the 
Lord  Jesus,  but  you  must  not  say  anything  more  about 
yourself."  So  when  he  would  forget,  and  begin  to  say 


32  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

something  about  himself,  they  would  lift  a  warning 
finger,  and  he  would  manage  to  change  the  sentence, 
before  it  was  finished,  into  some  word  of  praise  or  ex- 
altation of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Not  long  after  this  the 
man  was  healed. 

We  notice  again  in  this  Psalm,  that  the  Bride  is 
told  to  incline  the  ear.  This  means  to  incline  our  ear 
so  that  we  can  hear  the  slightest  whisper  of  the  Lord. 
He  loves  us  so  much  that  He  wants  us  to  keep  verf 
close  to  Him,  and  then  He  will  whisper  love  messages 
that  will  fill  our  hearts  with  joy  unspeakable.  Then, 
we  noticed,  that  she  had  to  do  some  forgetting ;  "For- 
get also  thine  own  people,  and  thy  father's  house.'* 
In  a  sense  we  are  to  forget  all  of  the  old  things,  and 
the  old  paths,  and  press  on  into  the  Lord's  resurrection 
life.  As  it  is  expressed  in  Song  of  Sol.  2 : 10-13.  "My 
Beloved  spake,  and  said  unto  me,  Rise  up,  My  love, 
My  fair  one,  and  come  away,  for  lo,  the  winter  is  past, 
the  rain  is  over  and  gone;  the  flowers  appear  on  the 
earth;  the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come,  and 
the  voice  of  the  turtle  is  heard  in  our  land."  And  here 
is  another  text  in  Rom.  6:13 :  "Yield  yourselves  unto 
God,  as  those  that  are  alive  from  the  dead,  and  your 
members  as  instruments  of  righteousness  unto  God." 

Look  at  the  nth  verse  of  the  Psalm  that  we  have 
been  considering:  "So  shall  the  King  greatly  desire 
thy  beauty."  He  will  see  within  you  His  own  spiritual 
beauty,  as  you  thus  hearken  and  yield  to  Him.  You 
will  be  separated  unto  Him,  and  He  will  live  out  His 
holy  life  in  and  through  you.  You  will  also  know  His 
healing  power  and  indwelling  life,  and  will  be  separ- 
ated from  the  diseases  of  Egypt.  Why  should  we  have 
anything  to  do  with  these  diseases?  They  have  been 
carried  to  the  Cross,  and  nailed  there,  just  the  same 
as  our  sins.  We  must  refuse  anything  that  the  enemy 
tries  to  put  upon  us.  If  some  one  would  come  to  our 
house,  and  put  up  a  sign  of  some  pestilential  disease, 
when  there  was  none  there,  I  would  tear  it  down,  and 
if  they  persisted,  I  would  seek  protection  from  the 
proper  authorities.  If  the  Devil  brings  his  symptoms, 
when  the  Lord  has  declared  you  to  be  free,  if  he 


THE  HEARING  EAR  33 

tries  to  put  his  tags  of  different  diseases  upon  you, 
you  have  a  right  to  refuse  those  tags.  "Resist  the 
devil  and  he  will  flee  from  you."  Resist  him,  believe 
God's  word  that  he  flees,  and  he  will  flee.  Once  the 
devil  put  some  symptoms  on  my  body  which  seemed 
like  something  very  serious,  and  then  he  stood  ready 
to  give  the  trouble  a  name.  I  said,  "No,  Satan,  in 
Jesus'  almighty  Name,  I  refuse  to  let  you  keep  these 
symptoms  upon  me,  or  to  give  them  a  name."  And 
as  I  trusted  and  praised,  the  enemy  soon  fled.  If  we 
are  willing  to  take  what  the  devil  puts  upon  us,  we 
will  have  it,  but  we  may  claim  that  we  are  free 
through  the  blood  of  His  Cross. 

Finally,  we  read  in  Psa.  45,  "He  is  thy  Lord,  and 
worship  thou  Him/'  He  is  our  Friend  of  friends,  He 
is  our  Bridegroom,  our  Lover,  but  He  is  also  our 
reigning  King,  and  we  are  to  worship  Him  with  our 
whole  heart.  He  is  longing  for  our  worship  and  praise, 
so  let  us  give  Him  the  worship  of. our  whole  heart 
continually. 

We  will  look  briefly  at  a  few  more  passages  about 
hearkening.  Turn  to  Psa.  81 :8 :  "Hear,  O  My  people, 
and  I  will  testify  unto  thee :  O,  Israel,  if  thou  wilt 
hearken  unto  Me,  (what  will  be  the  result?)  There 
shall  no  strange  god  be  in  thee  .  .  .  open  thy  mouth 
wide  and  I  will  fill  it."  If  we  hearken  we  shall  be  true 
to  our  God  alone,  and  shall  be  filled  with  devotion  and 
worship  to  Him.  In  verse  13  we  read  a  cry  of  His 
heart,  "Oh  that  My  people  had  hearkened  unto  Me, 
and  Israel  had  walked  in  My  ways.  (What  would  He 
have  done  for  them?  )  I  should  soon  have  subdued 
their  enemies,  and  turned  My  hand  against  their  adver- 
saries." 

Read  Isa.  48:18,  and  see  how  He  hungers  to  have 
us  hearken  to  Him.  "O  that  thou  hadst  hearkened  to 
My  commandments.  Then  had  thy  peace  been  as  a 
river,  and  thy  righteousness  as  the  waves  of  the  sea." 
Have  you  ever  stood  by  the  sea  shore,  and  watched  the 
great  waves  rolling  in,  one  behind  another?  That  is 
a  picture  of  His  righteousness  (for  we  have  none  of 
our  own)  within  us,  and  being  lived  out  in  us.  When 


34  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

our  peace  is  like  a  river  nothing  will  upset  or  annoy 
us.  His  peace  will  carry  away  all  of  those  little 
troubles,  as  a  broad  river  would  carry  chips  away  on 
its  bosom.  When  people  see  that  you  have  God's  peace 
within  you  like  a  river,  they  will  say,  "I  want  what 
that  child  of  God  has." 

We  will  read  Isa.  55:1-3.  "Ho,  every  one  that 
thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he  that  hath  no 
'  money  .  .  .  Hearken  diligently  unto  Me,  and  eat  ye 
that  whfch  is  good,  .  .  .  Incline  your  ear,  and  come 
unto  Me;  hear  and  your  soul  shall  live."  Are  there 
any  here  this  morning  who  are  thirsty  ?  Blessed  thirst, 
which  God  has  created  in  your  soul,  and  which  He  is 
ready  to  satisfy.  "Bring  empty  vessels,  not  a  few." 
Thirst  is  a  sign  of  emptiness.  But,  bring  no  money, 
for  this  water  of  life  is  a  free  gift  through  Christ  our 
Saviour.  I  heard  a  lecturer  say  that  when  He  was 
in  the  Holy  Land,  the  water  carriers  would  go  about 
selling  water.  But  sometimes  a  wealthy  man  would 
buy  up  the  whole  supply,  and  bid  the  carrier  give  it 
out  freely  to  the  thirsty  ones.  Then  the  man  would 
call  out,  "Here  is  water  free;  come  every  one  who  is 
thirsty,  and  buy  without  money  and  without  price.  It 
is  all  paid  for  by  your  kind  friend."  This  is  an  illus- 
tration of  how  the  Lord  has  bought  all  for  us  by  His 
own  precious  blood,  and  we  may  come  and  take  the 
water  of  life  freely. 

Who  will  hearken  today  ?  who  will  incline  the  ear  ? 
who  will  yield  all  to  our  Lord  and  King?  who  will 
take  by  faith  freely  the  blessed  Holy  Spirit,  the  living 
water  ? 


ENRICHED  OF  GOD  35 


CHAPTER  VI. 
Enriched  of  God. 

Please  turn  with  me  to  the  I4th  chapter  of  Genesis ; 
we  read  here  that  Lot,  Abraham's  brother's  son,  got 
into  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  He  "dwelt  in  Sodom" 
(verse  12).  Any  one  who  dwells  in  Sodom  gets  into 
serious  trouble.  Lot  did  love  God,  and  yet  he  dwelt 
in  the  wrong  place.  He  was  taken  captive  by  a  num- 
ber of  wicked  kings;  who  took  him  and  his  goods. 
Abram  did  not  dwell  in  Sodom ;  there  was  a  separation 
between  him  and  the  world,  so  he  was  able  to  deliver 
Lot.  And  all  of  God's  children  who  are  wholly  sep- 
arated from  the  world,  are  in  a  place  where  they  can, 
by  prayer  and  faith,  and  works  of  love,  deliver  their 
brother  who  gets  into  trouble. 

Notice  Abram's  attitude;  he  had  loving  sympathy 
and  tenderness  in  his  heart  for  Lot.  He  did  not  say, 
"If  Lot  had  dwelt  in  the  right  place  he  would  not  have 
been  taken  captive  and  gotten  into  all  this  trouble.  It 
is  none  of  my  business."  We  are  inclined  to  blame 
people  who  are  not  right,  and  who  get  into  trouble 
over  it,  but  Abram  went  at  once  after  Lot  and  did  not 
find  fault  with  him  because  he  brought  this  trouble  on 
himself. 

We  read  in  the  I4th  verse,  "And  when  Abram 
heard  that  his  brother  was  taken  captive,  he  armed  his 
trained  servants,  born  in  his  own  house,  three  hundred 
and  eighteen,  and  pursued  them  unto  Dan."  They 
went  by  night,  and  "smote  them  and  pursued  them/' 
and  in  the  i6th  verse  we  read,  "And  he  brought  back 
all  the  goods,  and  also  brought  again  his  brother  Lot, 
and  his  goods,  and  the  women  also,  and  the  people." 
Complete  deliverance !  He  brought  them  all  back.  Is 
there  anything  sweeter  for  us  to  do  than  by  prayer  and 
loving  works  to  go  after  our  brothers  and  sisters  who 
are  taken  captive,  and  bring  them  back?  God  requires 


36  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

this  of  you  and  me,  that  we  shall  go  and  bring  back 
those  of  His  children  who  are  taken  captive  by  the 
enemy. 

When  Abram  brought  Lot  back,  God  gave  him  a 
great  blessing.  But  first  the  king  of  Sodom  went  out 
to  meet  Abram  (verse  17).  Note  that  two  people 
came  to  meet  him,  viz.,  the  King  of  Sodom,  and  Mel- 
chizedek,  the  king  of  Salem  (Peace).  We  read  a  good 
deal  about  Melchizedek  in  the  Book  of  Hebrews. 
Some  people  believe  that  Melchizedek  was  the  Lord 
Jesus  Himself  in  human  form,  and  some  think  that  He 
was  merely  a  type  of  Christ.  We  read  that  Melchize- 
dek, the  King  of  Salem,  brought  forth  bread  and 
wine,  and  he  was  the  Priest  of  the  Most  High  God. 
And  he  blessed  Abram.  How  wonderful  to  find  that 
so  long  ago  bread  and  wine  were  given  to  Abram, 
types  of  the  broken  body  and  shed  blood  of  Jesus, 
our  blessed  Redeemer. 

Later  on  we  find  what  the  king  of  Sodom  wanted ; 
in  the  2ist  verse  we  read,  "And  the  King  of  Sodom 
said  unto  Abram,  Give  me  the  persons  and  take  the 
goods  to  thyself/'  Was  not  that  a  subtle  thing?  We 
see  people  today  who  used  to  be  soul-winners,  and  then 
because  of  a  covetous  spirit  getting  in,  they  let  the 
Devil  take  the  souls,  while  they  are  content  with  the 
goods.  How  very  sad.  God  help  them  to  see  the 
Devil's  deception,  and  get  loose  from  his  toils. 

But  how  precious  was  Abram's  portion  !  And  Mel- 
chizedek blessed  him  and  said,  "Blessed  be  Abram 
of  the  Most  High  God,  Possessor  of  Heaven  and 
earth :  and  blessed  be  the  Most  High  God,  which  hath 
delivered  thine  enemies  into  thy  hand."  What  a  won- 
derful blessing  that  was !  If  we  serve  the  Lord,  He 
says,  "All  things  are  yours,  and  ye  are  Christ's  and 
Christ  is  God's."  What  did  Abram  do?  "He  gave 
him  tithes  of  all/'  I  was  confused  for  a  time  about 
tithing,  for  fear  I  would  get  under  the  bondage  of  the 
law.  But  note  that  the  incident  in  our  lesson  today 
took  place  before  the  law  was  given  at  all.  We  do 
not  read  that  God  told  Abram  to  give  the  tithe,  but 
it  seemed  to  be  a  law  that  God  had  written  in  his 


ENRICHED  OF  GOD  37 

heart.  And  this  revelation  to  Abram  seemed  to  come 
down  to  Jacob  and  others,  for  we  read  in  Gen.  28 :2O, 
22,  "And  Jacob  vowed  a  vow,  saying,  If  God  will  be 
with  me,  and  keep  me  in  this  way  that  I  go,  and  will 
give  me  bread  to  eat,  and  raiment  to  put  on,  so  that  I 
come  again  to  my  father's  house  in  peace ;  then  shall 
the  Lord  be  m!y  God :  and  this  stone  which  I  have  set 
for  a  pillar,  shall  be  God's  house:  and  of  ALL  that 
Thou  shalt  give  me,  I  WILL  SURELY  GIVE  THE 
TENTH  UNTO  THEE/'  The  tenth  belongs  to  God, 
but  any  thank-offering  is  our  gift  to  Him.  The  tenth 
must  be  given  in  faith,  relying  on  God's  promise  in 
Mai.  3:10,  that  when  the  tithes  are  all  brought  in  He 
will  open  the  windows  of  Heaven  and  pour  out  such 
a  blessing  there  will  not  be  room  enough  to  receive  it. 
There  is  another  promise  also  which  follows,  (verse 
n)  and  that  is,  "I  WILL  REBUKE  THE  DE- 
VOURER  FOR  YOUR  SAKES."  So  if  the  de- 
vourer  is  now  wasting  your  body  with  sickness,  or 
wasting  your  substance,  you  can  take  this  literally, 
and  believe  that  He  does  rebuke  when  the  tithes  are 
all  brought  into  the  storehouse.  God's  rule  is,  "There 
is  that  scattereth,  and  yet  increaseth ;  and  there  is  that 
withholdeth  more  than  is  meet,  and  it  tendeth  to 
poverty."  We  see  this  law  in  the  natural  world;  the 
farmer  who  sows  much  seed,  reaps  a  large  harvest, 
and  we  see  this  same  law  holds  good  in  God's  grace. 
I  have  many  times  found  by  experience  that  money 
which  has  been  tithed,  lasted  much  longer  than  that 
which  had  not  been  tithed. 

In  verse  22  we  read  Abram's  answer  to  the  King 
of  Sodom.  "And  Abram  said  to  the  King  of  Sodom, 
I  have  lift  up  mine  hand  unto  the  Lord,  the  Most 
High  God,  the  Possessor  of  Heaven  and  earth,  that 
I  will  not  take  from  a  thread  to  a  shoe  latchet,  and 
that  I  will  not  take  anything  that  is  thine,  lest  thou 
shouldest  say,  I  have  made  Abram  rich."  Remember 
that  Abram  had  not  regarded  his  own  comfort  and 
ease  when  he  went  to  bring  Lot  back,  and  therefore  he 
received  an  added  blessing  from  the  One  who  possesses 
Heaven  and  earth.  He  was  so  strengthened  in  faith 


38  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

that  he  could  refuse  all  the  goods  of  the  King  of 
Sodom,  and  could  see  that  it  was  the  delight  of  his 
Father  to  provide  him  with  everything  he  could  pos- 
sibly need.  He  would  not  in  any  sense  be  tied  up  to, 
or  yoked  up  with  the  King  of  Sodom.  Oh,  the  inde- 
pendence of  a  child  of  God  who  is  fully  consecrated 
and  linked  by  faith  to  the  Lord !  We  must  be  separated 
from  all  worldly  covenants,  for  you  and  I  cannot  be 
yoked  up  with  the  world.  God  says,  "Come  out  from 
among  them,  and  be  ye  separate,  saith  the  Lord,  and 
touch  not  the  unclean  thing;  and  I  will  receive  you, 
and  will  be  a  Father  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  My  sons 
and  daughters,  saith  the  Lord  Almighty"  (2  Cor.  6:17, 
18).  God  is  our  Father,  and  He  owns  Heaven  and 
earth,  we  may  trust  Him  for  everything.  He  says, 
"Son,  thou  art  ever  ivith  Me,  and  all  that  I  have  is 
thine."  "If  ye  abide  in  Me,  and  My  words  abide  in 
you^  ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto 
you."  Abram  would  not  let  the  King  of  Sodom  say 
that  he  had  made  him  rich ;  Abram  was  jealous  for  his 
Father's  name.  How  would  we,  or  any  parent,  feel 
to  have  a  child  of  ours  go  and  beg  from  others,  telling 
them  that  their  father  would  not  give  them  enough 
to  eat  or  wear? 

In  all  the  relationships  of  life  God  requires  that  we 
shall  not  be  "unequally  yoked  together  with  unbeliev- 
ers/'— and  many  today  are  suffering  under  the  chas- 
tening hand  of  God  because  they  have  refused  to 
listen  to  His  commands  in  this  respect.  In  marriage, 
in  all  manner  of  business  relationships,  in  all  things 
small  and  great,  refuse  to  be  yoked  together  with  un- 
believers, and  keep  separated  unto  God,  and  He  will 
reveal  Himself  to  you  in  His  mighty  love  and  power, 
and  give  you  faith  to  trust  Him  for  all  things. 


DIFFERENT  DEGREES  OF  FAITH  39 


CHAPTER  VII. 
Different  Degrees  of  Faith. 

The  Bible  Study  the  Lord  has  given  me  this  morn- 
ing is  on  Faith.  There  are  a  number  of  passages  to 
which  I  would  like  to  have  you  turn.  First,  we  will 
look  at  some  passages  on  little  faith  because  I  think 
they  will  encourage  those  who  only  have  a  little  faith, 
and  while  we  get  warning,  as  it  were,  from  the  pas- 
sages on  little  faith,  we  also  get  encouraged  by  them, 
for  the  Lord  never  reproves  His  little  ones  without  also 
encouraging  them.  We  will  turn  first  to  Luke  12 128. 
When  you  look  at  a  text,  read  also  the  context,  and 
then  you  get  the  setting  and  a  great  deal  more  light  on 
it  than  by  taking  the  text  alone.  So  we  will  look  at 
what  the  Lord  had  been  talking  about.  He  said  in  the 
22nd  verse,  "Take  no  thought  for  your  life,  what  ye 
shall  eat ;  neither  for  the  body,  what  ye  shall  put  on/' 
We  know  that  means  take  no  anxious  thought.  A 
sister  wrote  in  a  letter  recently,  "The  Lord  is  insisting 
that  I  live  in  the  no-thought  life"  Not  new-thought, 
but  no-thought!  He  told  them  to  consider  the  ravens 
and  also  the  lilies.  The  ravens  were  fed  without 
barns  or  storehouses,  and  the  lilies  were  clothed  with- 
out toil  or  spinning.  Then  comes  the  verse  to  which 
I  have  called  your  attention;  "If  then  God  so  clothe 
the  grass,  which  is  today  in  the  field,  and  tomorrow  is 
cast  into  the  oven ;  how  much  more  will  He  clothe  you, 
O  ye  of  little  faith  ?"  A  friend  said  to  me  years  ago, 
"I  thought  He  was  finding  fault  with  me  in  this 
verse,  but  since  I  know  Him  better  I  know  He  meant, 
'Will  He  not  clothe  the  little  faith,  and  clothe  it  in 
spite  of  its  littleness?'"  He  is  so  delighted  to  see  us 
have  even  a  little  faith  that  He  will  do  a  great  deal  to 
enable  us  to  have  more  faith.  He  tells  us,  in  the  2gth 
verse,  not  to  be  seeking  what  we 'shall  eat  and  drink,, 
for  He  says,  "All  these  things  do  the  nations  of  the 


4o  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

world  seek  after:  and  your  Father  knoweth  that  ye 
have  need  of  these  things."  "Your  Father  knoweth." 
Yes,  our  Father  knows,  and  loves  and  cares.  So  do 
not  seek  these  things,  but  seek  the  kingdom  of  God 
first  of  all,  and  you  will  lack  no  good  thing. 

He  adds,  "Fear  not,  little  flock,"  (it  was  only  a 
little  flock  that  trusted  Him  in  that  way)  "for  it  is 
your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom/' 
He  will  give  you  the  kingdom,  and  with  it  all  the  rest 
of  the  things  you  need.  You  must  ask  God  to  make 
that  real  and  practical,  so  you  will  never  have  any 
more  worry,  for  it  displeases  the  Lord  to  have  us 
anxious  when  He  is  responsible  for  our  welfare  and 
so  fond  of  giving  us  every  good  gift. 

We  will  next  look  at  Matthew  8:26.  Beginning 
at  the  24th  verse,  we  notice  there  was  a  great  tempest 
on  the  sea,  and  the  ship  was  in  the  midst  of  the  storm. 
We  read  that  Jesus  was  asleep  and  the  disciples  awak- 
ened Him  and  said,  "Lord,  save  us,"  and  right  after- 
ward they  added,  "we  perish/'  That  is  like  some  of 
our  prayers.  He  said,  "Why  are  ye  so  fearful,  O  ye 
of  little  faith?"  You  know  that  when  you  have  only 
a  little  faith  you  have  fear  mixed  with  it,  but  when 
you  have  great  faith  you  have  no  fear.  "Then  He 
arose  and  rebuked  the  winds  and  the  sea/'  For  whom 
did  He  do  this  ?  For  those  who  had  only  a  little  faith. 
He  did  it  in  His  great  love,  so  they  would  trust  Him 
more.  But  little  faith  does  not  glorify  Him  as  great 
faith  does.  We  read  the  effect  this  miracle  had  on  the 
disciples;  they  marveled,  saying,  "What  manner  of 
man  is  this?"  They  got  a  new  view  of  the  Divinity 
and  power  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  this  is  the  way  He 
leads  us  on.  Let  us  look  at  Matthew  14:31.  The 
Lord  had  bidden  Peter  to  come  to  Him  on  the  water. 
If  Peter  had  had  perfect  faith  he  would  not  ha^e 
doubted,  but  he  lost  his  view  of  Jesus  and  saw  the 
winds  and  waves.  When  you  and  I  begin  to  have 
faith,  if  we  lose  our  view  of  Jesus  and  look  away  from 
Him  to  the  winds  and  waves  of  circumstances  we  soon 
begin  to  sink.  People  sometimes  get  a  touch  of  heal- 
ing, and  then  the  Devil  brings  some  big  symptoms 


DIFFERENT  DEGREES  OF  FAITH  41 

along  and  they  see  them  instead  of  seeing  Jesus,  and 
down  they  go.  Perhaps  they  say,  "I  guess  I  did  not 
have  any  healing  after  all."  But  they  had  been  truly 
touched  by  the  blessed  Healer,  only  they  got  their  eyes 
off  from  Him,  and  looking  at  the  waves  they  went 
down.  The  dear  Lord  was  right  there  at  hand,  to  lift 
Peter  up.  The  Lord  is  so  compassionate;  how  we 
need  His  compassion !  We  are  so  hard-hearted  natur- 
ally, and  it  usually  takes  great  trouble  to  break  our 
hearts  and  fill  them  with  His  compassion.  I  am  afraid 
if  you  or  I  had  been  there  we  might  have  wanted  Peter 
to  have  a  longer  dose  of  those  cold  waves,  just  to  let 
him  have  a  good  lesson.  But  if  we  are  like  Jesus  we 
will  help  people  up  quickly  and  not  criticize  them. 
Let  us  be  willing  to  help  the  weak  ones  over  and  over 
again  with  the  tenderness  of  Jesus.  "And  immediately 
Jesus  stretched  forth  His  hand,  and  caught  him,  and 
said  unto  him,  O  thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst 
thou  doubt  ?"  You  notice  that  He  .caught  Peter  and 
kept  him  from  drowning  even  though  he  had  only  a 
little  faith ;  so  this  is  an  encouragement  to  us  as  well  as 
a  warning. 

We  will  now  turn  to  Matthew  16:8.  We  notice 
here  that  the  disciples  had  not  understood  the  Lord 
when  He  told  them  to  beware  of  the  leaven  of  the 
Pharisees,  and  they  reasoned  about  it,  saying  it  was 
because  they  had  taken  no  bread.  "And  Jesus  said 
unto  them,  O  ye  of  little  faith,  why  reason  ye  among 
yourselves  ?"  We  notice  that  reasonings  and  little 
faith  go  together,  but  great  faith  goes  with  the  child- 
like simplicity  of  mind  that  does  not  try  to  reason  any- 
thing out.  Jesus  rejoiced  that  it  was  His  Father's 
good  pleasure  to  reveal  these  things  not  to  the  wise 
and  prudent  but  to  the  babes  and  sucklings.  Let  us 
ask  the  Lord  to  take  the  precious  blood  and  wash  away 
our  human  reasoning.  When  you  stop  trying  to  reason 
out  Divine  things  the  Spirit  will  reveal  them  to  your 
heart,  and  faith  will  spring  up  without  effort.  Often 
I  have  taken  some  word  of  God  in  my  heart  and  have 
praised  Him  that  He  would  make  me  understand  it, 
and  suddenly,  when  I  was  not  thinking  about  it,  the 


42  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

light  would  flash  upon  that  word  and  it  would  be  so 
sweet  and  clear  and  beautiful  in  the  light  of  the  Holy 
Ghost 

Now  let  us  look  at  a  few  verses  on  great  faith. 
Turn  to  Matthew  8  :io.  We  have  here  the  story  of  the 
centurion  who  had  such  great  faith.  Let  us  look  at 
his  attitude.  He  was  very  humble.  He  said,  "I  am 
not  worthy  that  thou  shouldest  come  under  my  roof/' 
We  can  truly  say  that  we  are  not  worthy  but  that  does 
not  exclude  us  from  getting  our  healing,  for  there  is 
One  who  is  worthy  and  we  may  claim  His  worthiness. 
In  Rev.  5  :i2,  we  read,  " Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain  to  receive."  Get  your  eyes  off  from  yourself 
and  see  the  worthy  One  up  there  on  the  throne.  Be- 
cause of  His  righteousness  we  are  bidden  to  come  with 
all  boldness  to  the  throne  of  Grace,  and  we  can  say, 
"I  take  this  blessing,  or  healing,  because  Jesus  is  in 
my  stead  and  He  is  worthy  of  this."  The  centurion 
had  great  faith  because  he  was  standing  only  on  the 
word  of  God :  "Speak  the  word  only,  and  my  servant 
shall  be  healed/'  Then  he  proceeds  with  the  follow- 
ing argument :  "I  have  only  limited  authority  myself, 
but  I  have  soldiers  under  me,  and  I  say  to  this  man, 
Go  and  he  goeth,  and  to  another,  Come  and  he  com- 
eth,  and  to  my  servant,  do  this,  and  he  doeth  it;  but 
Thou,  Lord,  hast  unlimited  power,  so  just  speak  the 
word  and  this  disease  will  obey  Thee."  'In  the  ic/th 
Psalm  we  read,  "He  sent  His  word  and  healed  them." 
Jesus  marveled  at  the  centurion's  faith  and  said,  "I 
have  not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel/'  You 
and  I  can  have  that  same  faith ;  it  is  to  believe  abso- 
lutely God's  word.  We  must  lay  hold  of  the  word 
which  the  Lord  Jesus  has  already  spoken,  and  He 
has  said,  "In  My  Name  they  shall  lay  hands  on  the 
sick  and  they  shall  recover/'  If  you  are  sick  and  we 
lay  hands  on  you,  we  have  done  what  He  tells  us  to 
do,  and  you  must  believe  that  He  does  what  He  says 
He  will  do.  If  you  say,  "I  will  wait  and  see  how  I 
feel,"  that  is  not  faith.  Perhaps  you  are  trying  to  be- 
lieve God's  word  and  your  feelings  too,  but  you  can- 
not do  that;  you  must  believe  the  word  only.  Take 


DIFFERENT  DEGREES  OF  FAITH  43 

the  attitude  of  the  centurion  and  say,  "Lord,  I  believe 
Thou  hast  done  according  to  Thy  spoken  word  and 
struck  this  disease  at  the  root,  and  it  is  healed.  I  will 
not  believe  the  lies  of  the  devil."  If  you  believe  you 
are  just  better,  that  is  all  you  will  get ;  the  Lord  does 
not  say  "better;"  He  says,  "they  shall  recover." 

In  Matthew  15:28  we  have  another  example  of 
great  faith,  and  also  an  example  of  great  humility.  If 
we  are  going  to  have  great  faith  we  must  have  utter 
humility,  and  not  think  we  know  anything  of  ourselves. 
This  woman  was  willing  to  take  her  place  as  a  little 
"dog"  under  the  table,  a  Gentile  dog,  knowing  that 
she  could  receive  all  that  she  needed  by  picking  up 
the  crumbs  the  Children  of  Israel  were  wasting.  She 
worshipped  the  Lord,  and  we  must  not  only  come  in  a 
humble  attitude,  but  also  in  a  worshipful  one;  and 
when  the  Lord  Jesus  seems  to  refuse  us  we  must  keep 
worshipping  Him,  and  then  He  will  say  to  us  as  He 
did  to  this  woman,  "Great  is  thy  faith:  be  it  unto  thee 
even  as  thou  wilt."  It  was  not  a  plea  for  herself,  but 
for  her  daughter  and  we  read,  "Her  daughter  was 
made  whole  from  that  very  hour."  Notice,  it  says, 
"made  whole''  not  better. 

Turn  now  to  Matthew  9:2.  "Jesus  seeing  their 
faith"  (and  when  there  is  enough  faith  to  see,  Jesus 
always  sees  it).  We  have  a  fuller  account  in  Mark 
2 13-5.  Here  we  see  four  people  bringing  this  sick 
man;  it  is  blessed  when  you  can  get  two  people  to 
agree,  but  here  are  four  who  must  have  been  absolutely 
agreed,  or  they  could  not  have  lifted  together,  and  got- 
ten that  man  first  up  to  the  house-top,  and  then  down 
at  Jesus'  feet !  There  was  a  great  crowd  around  Jesus, 
but  they  were  not  to  be  daunted  by  difficulties,  so  they 
broke  up  the  tile  roof  and  let  the  man  down.  They 
had  a  determination  of  faith.  If  you  will  not  let  any- 
thing daunt  you,  you,  too,  will  have  the  necessary 
,faith.  If  the  roof  is  in  the  way,  ask  the  Lord  to  show 
you  how  to  break  it  up ;  if  there  is  a  crowd  in  the  way 
ask  the  Lord  to  help  you  to  get  through  it.  Let  us 
ask  God  to  show  us  how  to  put  our  faith  in  action  so 
that  He  can  see  our  faith.  "When  Jesus  saw  their 


44  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

faith,  He  said  unto'  the  sick  of  the  palsy,  Son,  thy 
sins  be  forgiven  thee,"  and  He  added,  "That  ye  may 
know  that  the  S(5n  Q.f  man  hath  power  on  earth  to  for- 
give sins,  (He  3ai1iTa  to  the  sick  of  the  palsy)  I  say 
unto  thee,  Arise  "fake  up  thy  bed,  and  go  thy  way  into 
thine  house/'-  As  ^a  result,  the  onlookers  were  all 
"amazed  ancl  jglQffcfied  God."  That  is  why  we  desire 
to  be  healed/ i$fe  order  that  people  may  know  that  Christ 
has  power  to  forgive  sins,  and  that  we  may  glorify 
God. 

We  read  in  Matt.  9 122  about  the  faith  of  the  woman 
who  touched  the  hem  of  Christ's  garment.  "He  said, 
daughter,  be  of  good  comfort ;  thy  faith  hath  made  thee 
whole/'  The  reason  why  the  woman  tried  to  hide,  and 
not  confess  that  she  had  touched  Jesus  for  healing, 
was  because  she  had  an  issue  of  blood,  which  by  the 
Jews,  was  considered  an  unclean  disease.  She  knew 
that  she  had  no  right  to  touch  Him.  It  was  not  merely 
timidity  but  a  breaking  of  the  law ;  but  faith  will  press 
right  past  all  human  law,  and  all  difficulty,  and  get 
to  the  heart  of  Christ.  She  got  to  His  heart  of  com- 
passion because  she  believed,  but  He  called  her  out, 
and  made  her  confess  it  publicly,  and  then  He  forgave 
her  all.  Now  turn  to  Mark  10:52.  This  is  about  the 
blind  man.  We  read  in  the  context  that  the  people 
tried  to  stop  his  crying  after  Jesus.  Beloved,  if  the 
people  try  to  stop  your  crying  for  healing,  you  do 
what  this  man  did ;  when  they  tried  to  stop  him,  "he 
cried  the  more  a  great  deal."  It  is  a  sad  thing  when 
the  dear,  sick  ones  are  seeking  to  trust  the  Lord,  and 
their  friends  try  to  reason  them  out  of  it,  and  I  have 
known  some  who  have  in  this  way  lost  their  faith,  and 
gone  down  to  death.  Close  your  ears  to  all  human 
reasonings,  and  say,  "Do  not  distract  me,  but  leave  me 
alone  with  God,  and  His  word."  You  can  not  afford 
to  let  your  unbelieving  friends  talk  to  you  about  this 
which  is  vital  to  your  life  and  health.  I  have  seen 
people's  faith  entirely  taken  away  by  reasoning,  and 
they  have  been  robbed  of  their  inheritance  of  healing 
for  the  body.  Like  this  man,  drown  their  criticisms 
and  reasonings  with  your  more  earnest  cries  to  God. 


DIFFERENT  DEGREES  OF  FAITH  45 

Then  they  said,  "Be  of  good  comfort,  rise ;  He  calleth 
thee."  The  Lord  never  calls  us  except  for  blessing. 
Jesus  said  unto  him,  "What  wilt  thou  that  I  should  do 
unto  thee  ?"  The  blind  man  answered,  "Lord,  that  I 
might  receive  my  si£ht."  This  man  first  had  to  see 
Jesus  in  his  heart  by  faith  before  he  could  have  his 
natural  sight  restored.  Dear  ones,  think  first  of  get- 
ting spiritual  sight ;  get  the  word  quickened  unto  you ; 
get  the  kingdom  of  God  within  you.  Then  you  will  be 
in  position  to  receive  the  other  blessings  for  which  you 
are  asking,  and  in  an  attitude  to  exercise  the  faith  that 
will  make  you  whole.  The  Lord  spoke  the  word,  "Thy 
faith  hath  made  thee  whole/'  and  "immediately  he  re- 
ceived his  siglit,  and  followed  Jesus  in  the  way." 

Turn  to  Luke  17:19.  Here  we  read  about  the 
cleansed  lepers.  They  were  healed  as  they  went  to 
obey  the  Lord,  but  only  one  of  the  ten  came  back  to 
glorify  God.  Notice  the  worshipful  attitude  of  this 
leper.  He  was  so  full  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  that 
he  fell  on  his  face  at  Jesus'  feet.  Jesus  said,  "Arise,  go 
thy  way ;  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole,"  and  perhaps 
he  received  a  permanency  of  blessing  that  the  others 
did  not  have.  We  read  in  Acts  3:16  about  the  perfect 
healing  that  comes  through  faith  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
"And  His  Name  through  faith  in  His  name  hath  made 
this  man  strong,  whom  ye  see  and  know:  Yea,  the 
faith  which  is  by  Him  hath  given  him!  this  perfect 
soundness  in  the  presence  of  you  all."  The  Lord  does 
not  want  you  to  be  partly  healed,  but  He  wants  you  to 
have  "perfect  soundness"  and  if  you  take  less  than 
that  you  discount  the  promises  of  God,  and  the  power 
of  Jesus'  name.  Look  for  a  few  moments  at  Mark 
ii  121-25.  Notice  about  the  fig  tree  being  struck  dead 
at  the  root.  In  the  2ist  verse  we  read  that  Peter 
noticed  the  tree  which  Jesus  had  cursed,  that  it  was 
withered  away,  and  in  the  verse  previous  we  read, 
"They  saw  the  fig  tree  dried  up  from  the  roots!' 
Now  you  and  I  would  expect  to  see  it  die  from  the  top. 
You  girdle  a  tree  and  it  is  practically  dead ;  yet  at 
first  it  does  not  look  at  all  dead.  The  Lord  told  them 
that  if  they  had  faith  in  God,  and  would  not  doubt 


46  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

in  their  heart,  they  could  speak  to  this  mountain  and 
tell  it  to  be  removed,  and  cast  into  the  sea,  and  it  would 
obey  them.  This  commanding  faith  rises  up  within 
you,  and  is  marvelous ;  you  can  speak  to  the  mountain 
of  difficulty  before  you,  and  tell  it  to  go,  and  you 
know  it  does  go,  because  God  says  so.  Then  there  is 
nothing  to  do  but  to  praise  the  Lord,  and  not  doubt  in 
your  heart,  and  you  will  see  the  mountain  is  gone. 
God  wants  us  all  to  have  this  faith.  He  desires  to 
bring  His  children  up  to  an  every-day,  working  faith 
for  all  the  difficulties  that  arise.  This  principle  is  true 
in  regard  to  healing.  We  must  believe,  when  conse- 
crated hands  are  laid  on  us  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  that 
the  sickness  is  struck  dead  at  the  root.  I  have  seen 
people  take  a  real  hold  of  God  by  faith,  but  when  they 
did  not  see  all  the  symptoms  removed,  they  lost  their 
faith.  Notice  what  Gal.  2:18  says,  "If  I  build  again 
the  things  which  I  destroyed,  I  make  myself  a  trans- 
gressor." You  say,  "That  sickness  did  not  go,  after 
all."  When  you  say  this,  you  are  building  again  by 
your  unbelief  the  thing  which  you  destroyed  by  your 
faith.  I  have  seen  difficulties  and  diseases  go,  and  then 
seem  to  come  back,  but  as  you  stand  in  faith  the  moun- 
tain will  surely  be  removed.  This  is  a  solemn  warning, 
"If  I  build  again  the  things  which  I  destroyed/'  How 
did  you  destroy  them  ?  By  faith.  How  did  you  build 
them  again?  By  unbelief.  This  is  also  true  about 
spiritual  blessings,  as  well  as  healing.  By  faith  you 
destroyed  the  works  of  the  Devil  in  your  life,  so  that 
you  are  living  a  life  of  victory  and  holiness.  You  put 
off  the  old  man  with  all  his  works,  by  faith  in  the  One 
who  destroyed  him  on  Calvary.  How  did  you  build 
up  that  evil  thing  again  ?  By  unbelief ;  but  God  is 
able  to  establish  you  in  faith,  as  you  commit  yourself 
to  Him. 

There  are  two  parables  in  Luke,  one  in  the  nth 
chapter,  and  one  in  the  i8th.  We  will  not  have  time 
to  consider  these  fully,  but  I  would  like  to  have  you 
study  them  in  connection  with  this  thought  of  faith. 
One  is  the  parable  of  the  unfriendly  friend,  and  the 
other  of  the  importunate  widow.  Both  of  these  par- 


DIFFERENT  DEGREES  OF  FAITH  47 

ables  show  us  the  power  of  importunate  prayer.  Jesus 
"spake  a  parable  unto  them  to  this  end,  that  men  ought 
always  to  pray  and  not  to  faint."  (Luke  18:1),  He 
wanted  them  to  know  that  if  they  would  keep  on  pray- 
ing in  the  face  of  all  discouragements,  they  would  get 
the  answer,  but  they  were  not  to  faint.  The  widow's 
importunity  is  a  type  of  little  faith,  but  the  great  faith 
is  found  in  Mark  n  123,  24,  the  mountain-moving 
faith,  and  Jesus  adds,  "What  things  soever  ye  desire, 
when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye  receive  them,  and  ye 
shall  have  them."  The  force  of  the  expression  in  trie 
original  is  "Believe  that  ye  seise  or  take  them/'  I 
often  hold  out  my  hand  and  say,  "Lord,  I  thank  you, 
I  have  what  I  am  asking  for;  this  hand  I  reach  out 
is  just  a  little  sign  of  the  hand  of  faith  which  now 
takes."  But  when  you  have  not  that  strong  faith,  you 
just  keep  on  importuning  and  do  not  faint.  Because 
the  widow  kept  troubling  the  unjust  judge,  he  gave 
her  what  she  asked  for,  and  if  he  would  do  it,  when  he 
was  utterly  unjust  and  did  not  care  at  all  about  her 
need,  how  much  more  will  our  heavenly  Father  give  us 
all  good  things  as  we  persevere  in  prayer?  The  par- 
able of  the  widow  is  a  picture  of  infancy  in  faith.  But 
when  we  get  to  the  place  where  we  know  our  Lord 
as  the  heavenly  Bridegroom,  we  are  no  longer  widowed 
souls,  and  we  should  have  an  overcoming  and  com- 
manding faith.  The  disciples  said,  "Lord,  increase  our 
faith,"  after  Jesus  had  told  them  how  many  times  they 
had  to  forgive  their  brother,  so  we  see  that  Divine 
love  is  the  foundation  of  all  faith.  The  Lord  increases 
our  faith  by  increasing  our  love.  In  that  eleventh 
chapter  of  Mark  we  read,  "When  ye  stand  praying, 
forgive,  if  ye  have  ought  against  any :"  so  if  we  have 
anything  unloving  in  our  hearts,  any  grudges  against 
anybody,  we  must  get  them  out  of  the  way  or  we  can 
not  have  great  faith.  There  will  be  a  worm  gnawing 
at  the  root  of  our  faith  if  we  have  any  grudge  or  criti- 
cism against  anyone.  We  can  only  have  this  perfect 
love  by  taking  the  heart  of  Jesus  toward  everyone.  The 
very  people  that  are  disagreeable  to  you  are  the  ones 
that  need  most  your  prayer  and  love. 


48  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
Divine  Healing  as  Related  to  Our  Tongue. 

This  little  Bible  Study  is  about  Healing  for  the 
Body  in  relation  to  our  lips  and  our  tongue.  This  is 
a  very  important  subject.  We  will  turn  to  the  tenth 
chapter  of  Proverbs.  We  read  in  the  iQth  verse,  "In 
the  multitude  of  words  there  wanteth  not  sin:  but  he 
that  refraineth  his  lips  is  wise."  Let  this  strike  deeply 
into  our  hearts.  What  does  this  mean  ?  Does  it  mean 
that  we  talk  so  many  empty  words  that  we  talk  away 
all  our  opportunities  of  getting  deep  spiritual  blessing 
and  healing  ?  What  does  it  mean  to  refrain  our  lips 
in  Heavenly  wisdom  ?  I  believe  that  it  means  that  we 
should  so  represent  Christ  that  He  would  have  an  op- 
porunity  to  speak  through  us  His  own  blessed  words 
of  love  and  wisdom.  We  are  'here  for  this  purpose,  to 
represent  Him.  I  believe  if  we  were  fully  yielded  and 
obedient  all  the  time,  that  He  would  speak  through  us 
such  wonderful  words  of  helpfulness  and  loving 
counsel,  anointed  with  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
that  they  would  go  like  healing  balm  into  sorrowing 
hearts.  The  words  of  Jesus  were  always  life-giving 
words,  and  He  can  speak  through  us  words  of  faith 
and  love  which  will  inspire  faith  in  other  hearts.  In  a 
home  like  The  Home  of  Peace,  where  people  come  to 
receive  food  for  their  hungry  hearts,  and  help  for  their 
sick  bodies,  it  is  very  necessary  that  the  time  should  not 
be  wasted  in  talk  which  does  not  count  for  God.  The 
enemy  is  always  trying  to  hinder,  and  he  will  keep 
back  the  blessing  in  this  way  if  he  cannot  in  any  other. 
I  am  reminded  as  I  speak,  of  a  lady  who  was  healed  at 
the  Home  of  Peace  of  a  terrible  cancer,  which  had 
gone  all  through  her  body.  We  had  a  Prayer  Circle  in 
the  Home  at  that  time,  and  each  worker  and  guest  was 
expected  to  take  their  hour  for  special  prayer  for  them- 
selves and  others.  This  sister  was  very  faithful  in  this 


DIVINE  HEALING  AS  RELATED  TO  OUR  TONGUE    49 

prayer  hour,  and  as  she  waited  on  God,  He  taught  her 
the  most  wonderful  truths.  Also  when  she  had  heard 
a  Bible  Study  that  helped  her,  she  would  not  wait  and 
talk  away  the  blessing,  but  would  go  to  her  room,  and 
go  over  the  texts  again  before  the  Lord,  until  He 
burned  the  truth  into  her  very  soul.  She  was  glorious- 
ly healed  of  that  awful  cancer.  "He  sent  His  word 
and  healed  them." 

We  read  in  the  2oth  verse,  "The  tongue  of  the  just 
is  as  choice  silver."  Verse  21,  "The  lips  of  the 
righteous  feed  many/'  Also  see  verse  31,  "The  mouth 
of  the  just  bringeth  forth  wisdom."  We  will  look  for 
a  moment  at  these  texts.  Would  you  like  to  have  a 
tongue  like  "choice  silver"?  I  would.  I  am  asking 
Him  to  keep  my  tongue  so  absolutely  in  the  control  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  that  my  words  shall  be  as  "choice 
silver."  (And  silver  in  the  Word  of  God  is  a  type 
of  redemption).  Would  you  like  tp  feed  the  Lord's 
sheep,  as  He  has  commanded  us  to  do?  At  one  time 
a  dear  Christian  worker  was  visiting  at  our  Home,  and 
as  she  sat  at  the  table  she  said  something  which  did 
not  in  itself  seem  at  all  wrong,  but  the  Spirit  almost 
immediately  convicted  her  that  it  was  not  the  best  and 
most  helpful  way  she  could  have  used  her  lips.  She 
therefore  confessed  this  to  those  at  the  table  with  her, 
and  asked  forgiveness  of  the  Lord.  Her  great  humil- 
ity was  very  touching.  Since  then  the  Lord  has  used 
her  lips  to  "feed  many."  "The  mouth  of  the  just 
bringeth  forth  wisdom."  Oh,  the  little  trifling  things 
that  God's  people  often  talk  about  when  they  could 
have  asked  Him  for  some  light  on  His  word,  that 
might  have  been  brought  forth  to  His  glory,  and 
changed  the  whole  course  of  a  life. 

Now  we  will  read  further  about  the  lips.  Chapter 
ii  113  :  "A  talebearer  revealeth  secrets,  but  he  that  is 
of  a  faithful  spirit  concealeth  the  matter."  Mrs.  Abbje 
Morrow  Brown,  in  her  tract  on  Love,  speaks  of  certain 
little  things  that  she  wanted  to  tell  her  husband,  as  she 
liked  to  tell  him  everything.  But  the  Lord  said,  "No, 
do  not  tell  him ;  you  just  talk  to  Me  about  it."  She 
was  so  blessed  in  withholding  even  from  her  dear 


50  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

husband  that  which  might  have  reflected  on  another 
person.  In  chapter  12:18,  we  read,  'There  is  that 
speaketh  like  the  piercings  of  a  sword :  but  the  tongue 
of  the  wise  is  health."  Do  we  know  anything  about 
such  words  as  the  first-named,  that  are  like  the  pierc- 
ings of  a  sword  ?  Have  we  had  the  precious  friends 
who  really  did  love  us,  and  yet  they  would  speak  on 
the  spur  of  the  moment  some  unkind,  sarcastic  word 
that  would  pierce  like  a  sword?  God's  children  never 
really  want  to  speak  that  way,  but  they  are  sometimes 
not  sufficiently  filled  with  the  love  of  Jesus,  so  lose 
their  victory  for  the  moment.  Oh,  to  be  always  filled 
with  the  love  that  never  faileth,  the  divine  love  of  the 
blessed  God-Man.  "The  tongue  of  the  wise  is  health." 
That  means  health  to  the  one  who  speaks  as  well  as  the 
one  to  whom  they  speak.  Your  tongue  and  mine  can 
be  health  to  the  sick  ones  as  we  tell  them  about  the  love 
of  God,  and  the  faith  that  worketh  by  love.  Not  only 
must  our  words  be  from  Jesus,  but  our  tones  also 
must  be  from  Him,  filled  with  His  own  tenderness. 
When  I  was  a  girl,  and  lay  on  my  bed  of  suffering,  so 
very  ill,  the  tones  of  one  of  my  nurses,  when  she  did 
not  feel  quite  right  herself,  (for  she  had  her  own  sor- 
rows) gave  me  great  suffering,  so  that  I  could  hardly 
•endure  it.  She  could  not  realize  that  she  had  done 
anything  to  hurt  me.  Sometimes  we  have  used  tones  to 
those  who  were  very  sick  and  nervous  that  have  dis- 
couraged or  wounded  them,  when  we  might  have  used 
tones  full  of  cheer  and  the  love  of  God,  which  would 
have  been  comforting  and  life-giving.  Let  us  pass  on 
to  chapter  13:3.  "He  that  keepeth  his  mouth  keepeth 
his  life."  What  wonderful  words !  How  shall  we 
keep  our  mouth?  only  by  having  our  heart  kept,  be- 
cause out  of  the  fulness  of  the  heart  the  mouth 
speaketh.  Oh,  the  fullness  of  the  love  of  Jesus  in  our 
ihearts.  When  His  love  fills  your  heart,  you  cannot 
keep  still,  for  the  mouth  will  speak  it  out,  and  we  read 
here  you  will  keep  your  very  life  in  that  way ;  not  only 
your  spiritual  life  but  your  physical  life  also. 

We  read  in  chapter  14:25,  "A  true  witness  deliver- 
eth  souls/'    What  does  it  mean  to  be  a  true  witness? 


DIVINE  HEALING  AS  RELATED  TO  OUR  TONGUE    51 

Does  it  mean  that  you  are  one  if  you  talk  about  every- 
thing else  to  those  around  you,  and  not  about  the  im- 
portant things  that  God  has  intrusted  to  you?  On 
every  hand  there  are  souls  waiting  to  be  delivered. 
When  you  go  to  the  stores  what  do  you  say  to  the 
clerks  that  wait  on  you  ?  Do  you  give  them  a  tract  and 
tell  them  about  Jesus?  What  do  you  do  as  you  ride 
on  the  cars?  Are  you  a  true  witness  to  the  one  who 
sits  in  the  next  seat  with  you  ?  We  must  be  led  of  the 
Spirit  as  to  how  to  witness.  The  Holy  Ghost  must 
tell  you  what  your  particular  work  is,  and  whom  to 
speak  to.  Oh,  that  we  might  always  be  faithful  wit- 
nesses for  the  Master.  In  the  fifteenth  chapter,  and 
first  verse,  we  read :  "A  soft  answer  turneth  away 
wrath,  but  grievous  words  stir  up  anger/'  and  in  verse 
four,  "A  wholesome  tongue  is  a  tree  of  life."  I  want 
you  to  notice  what  it  says  about  the  "soft  answer;"  we 
need  to  know  just  what  it  means.  I  used  to  think  that 
a  soft  answer  and  a  kind  answer  were  the  same,  but 
God  showed  me  they  were  not.  A  kind  answer  does 
not  always  turn  away  wrath,  but  He  says  that  a  soft 
answer  will,  and  so  we  may  take  it  by  faith  that  it  does. 
What  is  a  soft  answer?  It  is  the  Holy  Ghost  in  you 
giving  the  answer  of  Jesus.  How  much  we  lack  the 
compassion  of  Jesus.  May  God  put  it  into  us.  We 
talk  about  being  kind  and  we  mean  to  be  kind  but  we 
know  so  little  about  the  compassion  of  Jesus  that  we 
are  not  really  kind  as  He  is  kind.  May  He  show  us 
our  need  in  this.  The  marginal  reading  of  verse  four 
is,  "The  healing  of  the  tongue  is  a  tree  of  life."  Oh. 
how  God's  children  need  their  tongues  healed.  They 
can  be  so  sharp  and  unkind  and  say  things  that  have  so 
little  love  in  them.  Let  us  cry  out  for  Jesus  to  heal 
our  tongues.  "The  healing  of  the  tongue  is  a  tree  of 
life."  What  is  this  tree  of  life?  It  is  Jesus.  He  has 
to  heal  our  tongues  by  living  in  us.  This  tree  of  life 
will  pour  healing  virtue  all  through  your  spirit,  soul 
and  body,  and  then  it  will  pour  out  through  you  into 
other  lives  that  are  sad  and  suffering.  You  may  have 
influence  and  be  very  clever,  and  able  to  say  eloquent 
things,  but  people  will  not  be  helped  by  this,  but  be- 


52  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

cause  you  have  a  broken,  compassionate  spirit,  and 
know  the  love  of  Jesus  is  in  you  and  they  feel  it.  I 
want  that  compassion  of  Jesus  which  does  not  fail  to 
the  unloving.  It  is  easy  to  love  some  people  but  it 
takes  the  love  of  Jesus  to  go  out  to  the  unloving. 

Turn  to  the  twenty-third  verse:  "A  man  hath  joy 
by  the  answer  of  his  mouth ;  and  a  word  spoken  in  due 
season,  how  good  is  it !"  This  rule  works  both  ways. 
You  have  joy,  and  you  give  joy  to  others.  You  have 
joy  according  to  the  answer  of  your  mouth.  I  say, 
"Lord  show  me  how  to  help  people  today :  give  me  the 
wise  answer;  let  my  mouth  be  a  wellspring  of  life 
to  those  I  meet  today."  In  the  latter  part  of  the 
twenty-sixth  verse  we  read,  "The  words  of  the  pure 
are  pleasant  words/'  In  the  twenty-eighth  verse,  "The 
heart  of  the  righteous  studieth  to  answer."  How  do 
we  get  that  answer  ?  By  waiting  on  the  Lord  until  He 
can  speak  the  answer  through  us.  In  the  eighteenth 
chapter,  and  fourth  verse,  we  find  these  very  solemn 
words,  "The  words  of  a  man's  mouth  are  as  deep 
waters,  and  the  well-spring  of  wisdom  as  a  flowing 
brook."  That  means  when  the  Holy  Ghost  is  in  you 
and  gives  you  words  they  will  be  as  a  well-spring  of 
water  and  a  flowing  brook.  Eighth  verse,  "The  words 
of  a  tale-bearer  are  as  wounds  and  they  go  down  into 
the  innermost  parts  of  the  belly."  This  is  very  solemn. 
A  person  that  beareth  tales  about  another  not  only 
wounds  others,  but  himself  also.  I  believe  people  have 
diseases  because  they  have  gone  with  tales  about  an- 
other, and  this  says  that  they  are  as  wounds.  You  say, 
"that  person  did  not  know  that  I  said  anything  about 
them,"  but,  dear  one,  God  knows,  and  the  wound 
came  back  to  your  own  soul.  Verse  twenty-one, 
"Death  and  life  are  in  the  power  of  the  tongue."  What 
solemn  words !  Does  it  mean  that  you  can  get  healing, 
beloved,  if  you  trust  God  to  give  you  right  words  all 
the  time?  Does  it  mean,  that  death  and  life  for  our- 
selves and  others  are  in  the  power  of  your  tongue 
and  mine?  Does  it  mean  that  we  must  be  wholly 
obedient  to  the  Spirit  on  these  lines,  and  speak  noth- 
ing but  tender,  loving  words,  and  be  a  faithful  witness 


DIVINE  HEALING  AS  RELATED  TO  OUR  TONGUE    53 

to  deliver  souls  from  death,  and  that  our  very  life  de- 
pends on  this?     I  believe  it  means  just  that. 

Let  us  turn  to  James  3  :2 :  "If  any  man  offend  not 
in  word,  the  same  is  a  perfect  man,  and  able  also  to 
bridle  the  whole  body."  The  whole  body  can  be 
bridled  when  we  bridle  our  tongue.  The  Devil  gets 
hold  of  the  natural  tongue  and  sets  it  on  fire  of  hell 
unless  the  whole  being  is  so  given  over  to  God  that  the 
enemy  cannot  get  any  control  of  the  tongue,  so  we 
must  get  the  tongue  healed  as  we  have  read  before. 
Farther  down  in  the  chapter  we  read  of  the  natural 
tongue  that  it  is  "deadly  poison.  Therewith  bless  we 
God,  even  the  Father,  and  therewith  curse  we  men, 
which  are  made  after  the  similitude  of  God.  Out  of 
the  same  mouth  proceedeth  blessing  and  cursing.  .  . 
Doth  a  fountain  send  forth  at  the  same  place  sweet 
water  and  bitter?"  What  would  happen  if  it  did?  All 
of  the  water  would  be  made  bitter.  "If  ye  have  bitter 
envying  and  strife  in  your  hearts;  glory  not;  and  lie 
not  against  the  truth/  This  wisdom  descendeth  not 
from  above,  but  is  earthly,  sensual,  devilish.  .  .  .  The 
wisdom  that  is  from  above  is  first  pure,  then  peace- 
able, gentle,  and  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy 
and  good  fruit,  without  partiality  and  without  hy- 
pocrisy." Here  we  have  two  photographs.  Which  one 
of  these  is  your  photograph  ?  Study  these  words  with 
care,  and  see  if  you  are  like  the  first  picture  or  the 
second.  Oh,  to  be  like  Jesus  in  His  purity,  His  gentle- 
ness, His  mercy,  His  truthfulness,  His  impartiality. 
When  our  hearts  are  filled  with  this  wisdom  from 
above,  we  shall  then  have  the  lips  that  speak  no  guile, 
and  that  create  no  dissension,  or  division ;  and  we 
shall  be  of  those  who  follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever 
He  goeth.  May  His  own  words  search  our  hearts 
today. 


54  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Outpouring  of  God's  Spirit. 

Let  us  turn  to  the  2nd  chapter  of  Joel,  beginning 
with  the  2  ist  verse.  We  will  read  to  the  end  of  the 
chapter.  First  we  are  called  upon  not  to  fear,  then 
to  be  glad  and  rejoice.  "Fear  not,  O  land;  be  glad 
and  rejoice:  for  the  Lord  will  do  great  things."  In 
these  solemn  days  when  there  is  so  much  tumult  every- 
where, the  Lord  wants  to  deliver  His  children  from 
fear.  The  Word  of  God  says  that  in  these  last  days 
men's  hearts  will  fail  them  for  fear,  but  He  does  not 
mean  that  the  hearts  of  His  little  ones  shall  fail  with 
fear,  for  He  says  to  them,  "Take  heed,  that  ye  be  not 
troubled."  Our  attitude  is  to  be  the  uplook,  and  the 
uplifted  head.  When  we  look  around,  there  is  dis- 
turbance and  trouble  on  every  side,  and  everything  in 
the  natural  would  make  men  afraid,  but  when  we  look 
up  and  see  that  the  prophecies  in  His  Word  are  being 
fulfilled,  it  steadies  us  in  Him  so  wonderfully.  We 
know  that  God  has  revealed  to  us  what  these  things 
all  mean ;  and  just  now  is  a  wonderful  time  for  seed- 
sowing.  The  time  is  so  precious,  and  the  responsibil- 
ity is  so  great,  to  give  out  the  Gospel.  I  find  that  men 
in  the  banks,  and  in  the  leading  business  houses  are 
interested  in  anything  which  will  explain  the  conditions 
which  prevail  today.  If  you  will  equip  yourselves  with 
good,  simple  tracts  about  the  Coming  of  the  Lord,  you 
will  get  the  ears  of  the  people.  Even  the  hard-headed 
business  men  who  would  not  have  accepted  a  tract  in 
the  past,  will  now  take  anything  I  give  them.  These 
days  are  so  important  that  earnest  souls  who  under- 
stand them,  will  feel  like  leaving  off  all  unnecessary 
things  in  order  to  have  time  to  give  out  the  Gospel. 
There  must  be  faith  with  the  uplook  and  the  up- 
lifted head,  for  we  are  looking  for  One  to  come, — we 
are  looking  for  the  return  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  The 


THE  OUTPOURING  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT  55 

great  world-kingdoms  spoken  of  in  Daniel,  shown 
forth  prophetically  in  the  image  of  Nebuchadnezzar's 
dream,  are  going  to  be  shattered  when  Christ  comes, 
for  He  is  the  Stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without 
hands.  The  image  will  be  struck  on  the  toes  and  the 
whole  will  become  like  "the  chaff  of  the  summer 
threshingfloors."  (Dan.  2:34,  35).  All  earthly 
kingdoms  will  be  dissolved,  and  the  Lord  will  reign 
over  the  earth  for  a  thousand  years,  and  the  nations 
will  learn  war  no  more.  It  helps  us  to  read  the  glori- 
ous prophecies  of  the  Millennium;  it  stays  our  hearts 
and  minds  on  Him.  God's  law  will  go  forth  from 
Jerusalem,  and  the  Jews  will  be  the  leading  people  of 
the  world.  The  times  of  the  Gentiles  have  about  run 
out,  and  soon  God  will  take  up  His  dealings  again  with 
His  ancient  people.  They  will  first  be  deceived  by  the 
Antichrist,  the  coming  Man,  of  whom  even  now  world- 
ly people  are  beginning  to  talk,  not  knowing  that  such 
a  man  has  been  prophesied  of  in  the  -  Bible,  and  that  he 
is  called  "that  Man  of  Sin."  (2  Thess.  2:3.)  But  God 
will  afterwards  show  great  mercy  to  His  chosen  peo- 
ple, and  He  will  bless  all  the  other  nations  in  the 
world  through  the  Jews.  It  is  all  so  wonderful,  and 
as  we  study  these  things  they  thrill  us,  and  fill  us  with 
joy. 

The  next  verse  in  Joel  2  is  very  encouraging.  'Be 
not  afraid,  ye  beasts  of  the  field :  for  the  pastures  of  the 
wilderness  do  spring,  for  the  tree  beareth  her  fruit, 
the  fig  tree  and  the  vine  do  yield  their  strength."  The 
beasts  of  the  field  had  groaned  because  of  the  rain  be- 
ing withheld  and  the  pastures  failing.  But  with  the 
full  redemption  of  God's  people  will  come  the  redemp- 
tion of  all  created  things.  They  are  all  groaning  now,. 
but  then  they  will  all  rejoice  together.  God  tells  us  to 
be  glad  and  rejoice,  and  when  He  tells  us  to  be  glad  it 
is  as  much  of  a  command  as  any  other  command,  and 
He  will  enable  us  to  obey  it.  You  say,  "I  would  like 
to  rejoice,  but  I  feel  so  downhearted  I  cannot/'  But 
you  must  will  to  do  whatever  God  tells  you,  for  He 
never  tells  us  to  do  anything  that  is  impossible.  If  you 
do  not  feel  any  special  joy  just  say  to  the  Lord,  "Lord, 


56  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

I  will  obey  Thee;  I  put  my  will  on  Thy  side/'  It  is 
like  God's  command  to  love.  You  do  not  feel  like 
loving  people  sometimes,  but  as  you  put  your  will  on 
God's  side  and  say,  "I  will  to  obey  Thee  and  put  my 
will  on  Thy  side,  and  will  trust  Thee  to  work  it  put  in 
me,"  He  will  do  it.  He  tells  us  to  rejoice  this  morning 
and  we  say,  "We  will  obey  Thee,  Lord ;  we  will  lift  up 
our  heads,  and  we  will  not  be  troubled  because  Thou 
hast  told  us  not  to  be  troubled."  All  you  have  to  do  is 
to  will  to  obey  Him,  and  you  can  do  that.  The  ques- 
tion is  whether  you  will  to  obey  God  or  not. 

He  then  tells  us  about  the  rain  (Joel  2 123),  "Be  glad 
then,  ye  children  of  Zion,  and  rejoice  in  the  Lord  your 
God:  for  He  hath  given  you  the  former  rain  moder- 
ately, and  He  will  cause  to  come  down  for  you  the 
rain,  the  former  rain,  and  the  latter  rain  in  the  first 
month."  He  speaks  first  of  "the  former  rain  moder- 
ately." He  has  given  that.  Then  there  was  a  promise 
of  a  future  double  down-pour.  Rain  is  a  type  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  At  Pentecost  God  gave  the  "former 
rain/'  and  now  He  is  pouring  out  the  "latter  rain."  I 
believe  we  may  look  for  a  double  down-pour  at  this 
time.  "He  will  cause  to  come  down  for  us  the  rain, 
the  former  rain,  and  the  latter  rain,  in  the  first  month." 
The  word  "month"  is  in  italics,  which  shows  that  it  is 
not  an  exact  translation  of  the  original.  It  might 
mean  any  short  period  of  time.  If  it  is  a  double  down- 
pour it  must  exceed  the  first.  There  is  one  wonder- 
ful way  now  in  which  God  is  using  the  "latter  rain." 
On  the  Day  of  Pentecost  they  spoke  with  tongues,  and 
many  mighty  miracles  were  performed,  but  in  these 
days  it  seems  that  He  is  pouring  out  of  His  Spirit 
"upon  all  flesh/'  Often  people  come  into  our  meet- 
ings who  have  no  knowledge  of  God.  When  they 
come  forward  for  healing  we  preach  salvation  to  them, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  so  works  upon  them  that  before 
they  seem  to  realize  what  is  taking  place,  they  are 
melted  by  His  presence,  the  tears  of  contrition  flow 
from  their  eyes,  their  hearts  are  made  tender,  and  a 
look  of  sudden  surprise  and  joy  comes  upon  their 
faces.  After  they  testify  to  being  saved,  you  will  find 


THE  OUTPOURING  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT  57 

them  very  open  to  teaching  that  will  take  them  on  into 
the  fulness  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  the  Spirit,  in  God's 
great  love,  being  poured  out  on  all  flesh.  There  is 
another  side  to  this  that  is  quite  remarkable.  Often 
one  receives  with  joy,  but  there  is  so  little  depth  of 
earth  (as  we  read  in  the  parable)  in  other  words  there 
is  no  deep,  abiding  determination  to  go  on  with  God, 
and  such  a  soul  falls  away.  But  what  has  God  done? 
He  has  given  them  a  taste  of  His  grace,  a  wonderful 
opportunity  to  know  Him,  and  they  are  without  ex- 
cuse. 

God  tells  us  in  James  5 17  that  the  Husbandman  is 
waiting  with  "long  patience"  until  the  "precious  fruit 
of  the  earth"  receives  the  early  and  the  latter  rain. 
Note  the  conditions  that  prevail  in  this  chapter;  the 
treasures  heaped  together  for  the  last  days,  the  strife 
between  capital  and  labor,  the  woe  pronounced  against 
the  selfish  rich  men,  the  call  to  the  brethren  to  be 
patient  unto  the  Coming  of  the  Lord,  and  the  Hus- 
bandman waiting  till  the  fruit  receives  the  early  and 
latter  rain.  God  is  working  so  rapidly  now.  It  would 
seem  that  He  is  fairly  running  to  meet  us ;  in  His  de- 
sire to  perfect  the  precious  fruit  He  is  sending  the  rain 
on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust.  In  the  natural  world, 
He  does  not  bless  my  orchard  with  rain,  without  send- 
ing rain  on  the  orchard  of  some  ungodly  man  who 
might  live  near  me.  God  says,  "I  will  pour  out  My 
Spirit  upon  all  flesh."  That  does  not  mean  that  those 
who  will  not  obey  God  will  be  saved  through  this,  but 
He  is  pouring  it  out  so  that  they  will  get  a  taste ;  but 
if  they  have  "not  a  deep  desire  for  God  Himself  they 
will  fall  away  in  time  of  temptation.  Do  not  be  sur- 
prised that  people  fall  away.  But  let  us  give  diligence 
to  hearken  and  obey  lest  we  should  fail  of  the  grace 
of  God.  It  means  very  much  to  be  kept  faithful  to 
God  through  His  grace,  especially  in  these  days  of 
great  testing. 

God  is  hastening,  as  it  were,  to  give  the  needed 
maturity  to  the  precious  fruit  of  the  earth  through  the 
early  and  latter  rain.  The  sign  of  new  tongues  came 
with  the  early  rain  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  as  we  all 


58  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

know.  One  reason  why  the  same  sign  accompanies 
the  latter  rain  now  is  that  we  may  all  recognize  what 
it  is.  Over  thirty  years  ago  I  received  a  marvelous 
anointing  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  was  flooded  with  joy 
as  the  presence  of  Christ  was  revealed  to  me.  God's 
glory  swept  over  me  until  even  my  tongue  was  filled 
with  waves  of  His  life.  I  had  known  what  it  was  to 
consider  my  body  as  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  but 
now  I  thought,  "How  wonderful  for  God  to  fill  all  my 
body  with  His  own  life,  even  my  tongue !"  I  believe 
I  would  have  spoken  in  new  tongues  then  if  I  had 
spoken  at  all,  but  I  praised  Him  silently.  That  was 
long  before  we  heard  of  the  latter  rain,  as  we  know  it 
now.  But  in  June,  1908,  the  Holy  Spirit  came  upon 
me  in  mighty  power,  and  there  was  a  great  overflow. 
At  that  time  a  "weight  of  glory"  rested  upon  my  head 
for  two  hours;  it  seemed  like  a  living,  spiritual  sub- 
stance, and  I  knew  it  was  the  presence  of  God.  The 
Holy  Spirit  spoke  and  sang  through  me  in  wonderful 
languages,  and  gave  sweet,  wonderful  tunes,  note  by 
note.  My  soul  was  flooded  with  the  joy  of  Christ's 
presence. 

People  say  to  me,  "Do  you  mean  to  say  I  have 
never  received  the  Holy  Spirit?"  I  reply,  "No,  I  do 
not  necessarily  say  that,  for  I  know  I  had  received 
Him,  but  I  did  not  get  the  fulness  until  I  let  my  brain 
get  fully  under  His  control.  We  must  stop  reasoning, 
and  say,  "Lord,  reveal  to  me  what  Thou  are  doing  in 
these  latter  days."  If  you  are  willing  to  pay  the  price, 
and  to  suffer  reproach,  God  will  give  you  His  unspeak- 
able fulness.  People  say,  "I  think  so  and  so."  God 
wants  your  thoughts  out  of  His  way.  Study  His 
Word,  and  trust  the  Spirit  to  show  you  His  truth. 
You  cannot  think  out  spiritual  things ;  the  Spirit  must 
reveal  them  through  the  Word  of  God. 

I  could  never  begin  to  tell  you  the  added  glory 
and  blessing  I  have  received  since  the  latter  rain  fell 
upon  me.  I  had  been  greatly  blessed  before,  but  I  must 
say  that  if  I  had  to  lose  the  glory  and  presence  of 
Christ  which  I  received  in  1908,  and  go  back  to  the 
blessing  I  had  before,  I  know  not  how  I  could  endure 


THE  OUTPOURING  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT  59 

the  sorrow  and  anguish  of  it.  I  cannot  contemplate 
such  a  thought  with  the  slightest  endurance.  This  is 
not  because  of  any  experience  in  itself,  but  because  I 
have  so  much  more  of  Jesus  Himself,  and  Christ  re- 
vealing the  Father,  through  the  indwelling  Spirit. 

But  after  receiving  the  Holy  Spirit  there  must  be 
perfect  obedience,  and  we  must  go  on  and  on  in  the 
life  of  faith.  Jesus  said  that  out  of  the  inner  man  of 
those  who  received  the  Spirit  should  "flow  rivers  of 
living  water/'  We  must  believe  God's  Word,  that  the 
rivers  are  flowing,  because  He  said  so.  I  may  not  see 
them  here,  but  they  will  flow  as  /  believe  God's  Word. 
God  does  not  always  let  us  see  what  He  is  doing 
through  us ;  we  might  get  puffed  up  or  exalted.  Some- 
times He  lets  us  see  a  little  that  we  may  be  encouraged. 
Oh,  how  the  rivers  will  flow  as  you  believe  Him,  but 
you  have  to  keep  drinking  from  Jesus  all  the  time, 
just  as  you  did  when  you  received  your  baptism.  One 
look  of  faith,  and  the  rivers  will  start  flowing,  but  we 
never  come  into  any  part  of  our  inheritance  except  by 
faith.  "If  any  man  thirst  let  him  come  unto  Me  and 
drink/'  John  7:37. 

People  need  to  feed  more  upon  the  Word  of  God. 
We  shall  have  no  abiding  blessing  if  we  do  not  con- 
tinually feed  upon  the  Word.  One  of  our  Beulah 
workers  says  that  when  her  faith  does  not  seem  to  be 
strong  she  reads  about  forty  chapters  from  the  Word, 
and  then  her  faith  is  revived.  This  is  a  very  good 
recipe  for  increasing  faith ! 

In  Joel  2:24  we  see  the  effect  of  the  latter  rain. 
"And  the  floors  shall  be  full  of  wheat,  and  the  fats 
shall  overflow  with  wine  and  oil."  Beloved,  have  you 
an  overflow  of  wine  and  oil  this  morning?  Have  you 
enough  to  bless  other  people  with  ?  In  Hosea  14  .*7  we 
read,  "They  that  dwell  under  his  shadow  shall  .  .  . 
revive."  Some  people,  even  those  who  call  themselves 
Christians  have  a  deadly  shadow.  Criticism  is  a 
deadly  thing;  lack  of  love  is  a  deadly  thing.  The 
Holy  Ghost  comes  to  shed  abroad  the  love  of  God. 
Have  you  a  shadow  that  revives  people  when  they  get 
discouraged,  or  when  they  are  sick  and  in  trouble? 


6o  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

Are  we  like  our  great  High  Priest,  who  has  compas- 
sion on  the  ignorant  and  those  who  are  out  of  the  way  ? 
What  kind  of  a  shadow  have  you  in  your  home,  and 
in  your  assembly,  or  church?  God  wants  the  vats  to 
overflow  with  wine  and  oil.  Wine  is  the  joy  of  the 
Spirit,  and  oil  is  the  love  and  comfort  of  the  Spirit. 
You  will  not  be  occupied  with  lovely  feelings,  and  say, 
"I  will  go  to  my  closet  and  feast  on  my  blessed  ex- 
periences." No,  if  you  go  to  your  closet,  and  truly 
wait  on  the  Lord,  you  will  get  your  marching  orders 
from  Him.  He  will  send  you  to  bless  some  one  else, 
and  then  your  own  blessing  will  multiply  an  hundred 
fold.  Do  you  want  to  be  one  of  God's  little  vats? 
Not  one  that  is  half  full,  but  one  that  is  running  over 
with  wine  and  oil. 

There  is  something  else  that  comes  with  the  latter 
rain.  "And  I  will  restore  to  you  the  years  that  the 
locust  hath  eaten,  the  cankerworm,  and  the  cater- 
piller,  and  the  palmerworm,  My  great  army  which  I 
sent  among  you."  Here  is  God's  restoring  grace. 
Was  there  ever  a  time  in  your  life  when  the  worm  ate 
up  your  time  and  strength  ?  Did  you  ever  have  wasted 
years  in  your  life  ?  No  doubt  we  have  all  had  times 
like  that,  but  when  the  fulness  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
comes  into  our  lives,  He  will  more  than  make  up  for 
all  the  wasted  years.  And  He  adds,  "And  ye  shall  eat 
in  plenty  and  be  satisfied,  and  praise  the  Name  of  the 
Lord  your  God,  that  hath  dealt  wondrously  with  you, 
and  My  people  shall  never  be  ashamed."  When  you 
receive  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit,  you  will  be  filled  with 
praise  and  adoration.  Some  people  do  not  like  to  hear 
any  one  praise  the  Lord  out  loud.  What  will  such  an 
one  do  if  he  gets  to  Heaven?  God  says,  "My  people 
shall  never  be  ashamed."  You  may  have  a  great  deal 
of  persecution,  but  as  you  obey  God  and  go  all  the  way 
with  Him,  you  will  be  so  happy  in  Him  you  will  know 
no  shame.  The  more  you  are  persecuted  the  more  you 
will  rejoice  in  Him, 

All  the  prophecies,  and  the  signs  of  the  times  show 
that  Jesus  is  coming  soon.  Be  sure  that  you  do  not 


THE  OUTPOURING  OF  GOD'S  SPIRIT  61 

let  any  one  rob  you  of  your  inheritance.  God  tells  us 
to  "Ask  of  the  Lord  rain  in  the  time  of  the  latter  rain," 
(Zech.  10:1)  and  this  is  a  direct  command.  Are  you 
asking?  Ask  in  faith,  and  you  will  receive,  and  be 
ready  for  Jesus  when  He  comes  to  catch  away  His 
little  ones. 


62  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  X. 
The  Sin  of  Discouragement. 

"Our  brethren  have  discouraged  our  heart,  saying, 
The  people  is  greater  and  taller  than  we;  the  cities 
are  great  and  walled  up  to  heaven ;  and  moreover  we 
have  seen  the  sons  of  the  Anakims  there/5  (Deut. 
1:28.) 

It  would  not  seem  at  first  thought  that  the  sin  of 
the  men  who  went  to  spy  out  the  land  of  Canaan  was 
so  great.  They  had  faithfully  searched  the  land  and 
had  brought  back  of  its  fruit;  the  cluster  of  grapes 
from  Eschol  was  so  large  that  two  men  bore  it  to- 
gether upon  a  staff.  They  also  brought  of  the  pom- 
egranates and  figs,  and  they  said,  "We  came  unto  the 
land  whither  thou  sentest  us,  and  surely  it  floweth  with 
milk  and  honey,  and  this  is  the  fruit  of  it."  But  all 
the  good  they  said  of  the  land  was  overbalanced  by 
what  they  added  through  unbelief,  that  which  the 
Word  of  God  calls  an  "evil  report  of  the  land." 
Through  failure  to  believe  the  promise  of  God,  these 
spies  (all  but  Caleb  and  Joshua)  laid  emphasis  upon 
the  fact  that  the  people  who  dwelt  in  the  land  were 
strong  and  the  cities  were  walled  and  very  great; 
that  the  men  were  giants  and  that  they,  themselves, 
were  as  grasshoppers  in  their  sight. 

Caleb  was  one  of  the  faithful  spies  and  he  "stilled 
the  people  before  Moses  and  said,  Let  us  go  up  at 
once  and  possess  it  for  we  are  well  able  to  overcome 
it."  But  the  unbelieving  spies  added  emphatically, 
"We  be  not  able  to  go  up  against  the  people  for  they 
are  stronger  than  we/'  This  "evil  report"  was  re- 
ceived by  the  congregation,  so  that  they  wept  that 
night  and  then  they  murmured  against  Moses  and 
Aaron,  and  the  whole  congregation  said  unto  them, 
"Would  to  God  that  we  had  died  in  the  land  of  Egypt ! 
or  would  God  we  had  died  in  this  wilderness !"  Then 


THE  SIN  OF  DISCOURAGEMENT  63 

in  their  wicked  unbelief  and  rebellion  against  God  they 
began  to  make  plans  to  appoint  a  captain  and  to  re- 
turn into  Egypt.  Joshua  and  Caleb,  the  two  faithful 
spies,  tried  again  to  encourage  the  hearts  of  the  people, 
telling  them  of  the  power  of  the  Lord  to  bring  them 
into  the  land,  and  begged  them  not  to  fear  because 
the  Lord  was  able  to  bring  them  in,  but  the  congrega- 
tion desired  to  stone  them  with  stones  because  of  their 
words  of  faith  and  courage.  Only  Moses'  intercession 
kept  God  at  this  time  from  smiting  all  the  people  with 
pestilence  and  disinheriting  them  entirely.  "And  the 
Lord  said  unto  Moses,  How  long  will  this  people  pro- 
voke Me  ?  and  how  long  will  it  be  ere  they  believe  Me 
for  all  the  signs  which  I  have  shewed  them?"  Again 
the  Lord  said,  "How  long  shall  I  bear  with  this  evil 
congregation  which  murmur  against  Me  ?  I  have  heard 
the  murmurings  of  the  children  of  Israel  which  they 
murmur  against  Me.  Say  unto  them,  as  truly  as  I  live, 
saith  the  Lord,  as  ye  have  spoken  in  Mine  ears,  so  will 
I  do  to  you."  They  had  said  in  their  wickedness  that 
God  had  brought  them  into  the  wilderness  to  slay 
them,  and  according  to  their  awful  unbelief,  God  says 
He  will  now  do  unto  them  the  thing  they  had  said, 
and  for  forty  years  (a  year  for  each  day  that  the  spies 
searched  in  the  land)  He  would  let  them  wander  in  the 
wilderness  until  all  the  men,  from  twenty  years  up- 
ward, who  had  rebelled  against  Him,  were  dead.  But 
God's  judgment  against  those  who  had  discouraged 
the  hearts  of  the  people  was  immediate  and  terrible. 
"And  the  men  which  Moses  sent  to  search  the  land, 
who  returned  and  made  all  the  congregation  to  mur- 
mur against  him  by  bringing  a  slander  upon  the  land, 
even  those  men  that  did  bring  up  the  evil  report  upon 
the  land,  died  by  the  plague  before  the  Lord."  (Num. 
14:36,  37.) 

In  the  third  chapter  of  Hebrews  we  have  a  solemn 
warning  drawn  from  these  'occurrences,  "Take  heed, 
brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of  you  an  evil  heart  of 
unbelief,  in  departing  from  the  living  God."  (Read 
Heb.  3,  from  verse  seven  to  end  of  the  chapter.)  The 
nineteenth  verse  reads,  "So  we  see  that  they  could  not 


64  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

enter  in  because  of  unbelief."  God  did  not  bar  the 
way.  He  took  His  people  in  a  few  days  to  Kadesh 
Barnea  and  wanted  them  to  enter  the  land  at  once, 
but  their  unbelief  closed  the  way  into  Canaan.  He 
would  have  gone  with  them  and  would  have  given 
them  victory  on  every  hand,  but  because  they  would 
not  believe  He  swore  in  His  wrath  that  they  should 
not  enter. 

We  are  warned  not  to  harden  our  hearts  as  they 
did.  The  hardened  heart  which  will  not  believe  God 
is  the  heart  which  will  not  obey  God.  These  people 
discouraged  the  hearts  of  their  brethren.  They  did  not 
enter  themselves  and  through  discouragement  they 
prevented  their  brethren  from  entering  the  land.  The 
sin  of  unbelief  is  terrible  in  God's  sight.  And  yet  how 
little  do  the  children  of  God  today  realize  how  terrible 
is  this  sin !  An  unbelieving  heart  is  described  as  an 
evil  heart.  If  we  are  convicted  by  God  of  the  sin  of 
unbelief  we  will  humble  ourselves  before  Him  in  deep 
contrition  and  ask  Him  to  wash  the  sin  away  by  His 
precious  blood.  We  must  not  only  be  purged  from  this 
sin  ourselves,  but  we  must  be  careful  not  to  come  under 
the  power  of  unbelief  in  others  who  would  discourage 
us. 

It  is  true  that  there  were  giants  in  the  land  then, 
and  there  are  plenty  of  formidable  foes,  to  oppose  our 
way  now.  But  the  language  of  faith  is  "Neither  fear 
the  people  of  the  land,  for  they  are  bread  for  us ;  their 
defence  is  departed  from  them  and  the  Lord  is  with 
us.  Let  us  go  up  at  once  and  possess  it  for  we  are 
well  able  to  overcome  it." 

God's  command  to  His  people  is,  "Be  of  good 
courage;  have  not  I  commanded  you?"  As  some  one 
has  said,  "God's  commands  are  His  enablings,"  and 
as  we  will  to  obey  Him  when  He  says,  "Be  of  good 
courage,"  He  will  enable  us  to  be  of  good  courage. 
When  God  was  about  to  defeat  the  Midianites  through 
Gideon  and  his  band,  He  said,  "The  people  are  too 
many,  lest  Israel  vaunt  themselves  against  Me,  saying, 
mine  own  hand  hath  saved  me."  God  can  never  give 
the  victory  to  those  who  will  not  give  Him  the 


THE  SIN  OF  DISCOURAGEMENT  65 

glory.  In  lessening  the  number  of  the  army,  Gid- 
eon was  told  to  proclaim  that  all  who  were  "  fear- 
ful and  afraid"  could  go  away,  and  twenty-two  thous- 
and of  the  thirty-two  thousand  departed.  (Judges 
7:2-4.)  If  these  fearful,  faint-hearted  men  had  re- 
mained, they  would  have  weakened  the  hands  of  the 
others  by  their  discouraging  words.  We  are  far  better 
off  alone  with  God  than  with  so-called  helpers  who 
doubt  God  and  who  say  discouraging  things  to  us. 
We  should  not  allow  people  to  talk  discouragingly 
to  us  when  we  have  stepped  out  on  God's  promises. 
It  is  contrary  to  all  the  spirit  of  God's  Word.  God 
says,  "If  men  are  cast  down  thou  shalt  say,  there  is 
lifting  up."  I  have  seen  people  step  out  on  God's 
promises  for  their  body  and  begin  to  amend,  having 
wonderful  changes  in  their  bodies  through  the  touch 
of  God.  I  have  seen  these  same  people  surrounded 
afterwards  by  unbelieving  friends  and  relatives  who 
spent  their  time  in  telling  them  how  badly  they  looked, 
and  in  causing  them  to  turn  their  eyes  away  from 
the  promises  of  God  to  some  new  remedy  or  physician. 
These  people  then  would  listen  to  their  friends  instead 
of  God's  Word,  and  soon  the  new  joy  in  their  faces, 
and  the  victory  in  their  souls,  would  fade  away  and  an 
awful  discouragement  would  take  hold  of  them  which 
it  seemed  impossible  to  overcome,  and  the  disease 
which  had  before  seemed  to  be  killed  at  the  root,  would 
spring  up  again  with  fresh  force,  and  finally  they 
would  go  down  to  death.  How  sad  we  have  been  made 
over  such  cases!  People  staying  here  at  Beulah 
Heights,  who  were  gaining  victory  for  soul  and  body, 
would  often,  through  the  persuasion  of  their  friends, 
return  home  too  soon  (before  they  were  established  in 
the  faith),  and  we  have  seen  them  go  back  into  an 
atmosphere  of  worldliness,  and  unbelief;  and  discour- 
agement would  soon  result  and  their  healing  became 
almost  an  impossibility  under  such  circumstances. 
God  is  faithful,  but  we  must  meet  the  conditions. 

Remember  that  it  is  "the  prayer  of  faith"  that 
saves  the  sick.  (Jas.  5:14,  IS-)  The  Pr*yer  of  faith 
is  one  of  absolute  assurance,  and  one  which  does  not 


66  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

admit  of  a  doubt.  Of  course  we  know  that  God  can 
heal  any  one  in  any  place  but  the  conditions  must  be 
met.  God  says,  "Come  out  from  among  them  and  be 
ye  separate  and  touch  not  the  unclean  thing ;  and  I 
will  receive  you  and  will  be  a  Father  unto  you,  and  ye 
shall  be  My  sons  and  daughters,  saith  the  Lord  Al- 
mighty." (2  Cor.  6:17,  18).  If  compelled  to  remain 
in  an  atmosphere  of  unbelief,  ask  the  Lord  to  be  to 
you  "a  little  sanctuary/'  and  keep  you  separated  by 
His  precious  blood  and  His  Spirit  from  all  around 
you.  You  can  be  like  the  white  flower  which  is  said  to 
grow  by  the  mouth  of  the  coal  pit,  and  which  has  such 
a  high  enamel  that  none  of  the  coal  dust  remains  upon 
its  surface. 

God  says,  "He  that  wavereth  is  like  a  wave  of  the 
sea,  driven  with  the  wind  and  tossed,  for  let  not  that 
man  think  that  he  shall  receive  anything  of  the  Lord." 
(Jas.  i  :6,  7.)  And  yet  in  spite  of  all  God  says  on  this 
subject,  the  man  who  wavers  in  his  faith  does  keep 
thinking  (not  believing)  that  his  desires  will  be 
granted.  How  necessary  it  is  for  us  to  realize  that 
God's  thoughts  are  as  high  above  our  thoughts  as 
the  heavens  are  above  the  earth.  If  we  will  steadfastly 
refuse  our  own  thoughts,  the  Devil  cannot  fill  our 
minds  with  unbelief,  but  as  we  yield  to  the  Spirit  of 
Truth,  God  will  give  us  the  mind  of  Christ. 

Sophie,  the  Scrub  Woman,  had  a  quaint  way  of 
saying  that  discouragement  is  the  Devil's  visiting  card 
and  that  if  we  receive  his  card,  the  Devil  himself  will 
come  along  after  it.  I  believe,  beloved  friends,  that  if 
we  could  realize  that  discouragement  belongs  wholly 
to  that  awful  sin  of  unbelief  so  condemned  by  God,  we 
would  refuse  it  as  utterly  as  we  would  some  temptation 
to  steal  or  commit  a  terrible  crime.  Let  us  here  and 
now  refuse  it  absolutely,  and  let  us  press  on  with  holy 
courage,  and  unwearied  importunity,  to  obtain  the 
promises  which  are  so  freely  and  fully  ours  for  soul 
and  body. 


THOU  ART  LOOSED  67 


CHAPTER  XL 
Thou  Art  Loosed. 

I  have  a  little  Bible  Study  which  was  blessed  to 
my  own  soul  in  the  early  morning,  and  I  believe  now 
that  it  will  be  a  blessing  to  all  of  us  as  we  trust  Him 
together.  This  subject  is  one  that  I  have  thought  a 
great  deal  about  of  late.  It  is  that  of  Being  Loosed, 
according  to  God's  promise. 

First  we  will  look  at  a  very  important  text  that  we 
use  a  great  deal  in  our  work  in  Beulah  Heights.  It 
is  found  in  Matthew  16 119.  "And  I  will  give  unto  thee 
the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  whatsoever 
thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven :  and 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed 
in  heaven/'  We  know  that  wonderful  truth,  that  was 
revealed  to  Peter  by  our  Father  in  heaven,  was  the 
foundation  stone,  or  rock,  of  Christ's  Church,  viz.,  that 
Christ  was  the  Son  of  God;  and  we  must  also  have 
that  revelation  made  to  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Flesh  and  blood  cannot  understand  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  that  He  is  our  Master  and 
Lord,  and  Saviour  and  God,  that  He  is  not  only  man 
but  the  God-man.  Note  the  i/th  verse  of  this  same 
chapter.  Here  Jesus  says,  "Flesh  and  blood  hath  not 
revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven/'  The  truth  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  comes  to 
us  only  by  revelation  for  the  Word  says,  "Canst  thou 
by  searching  find  out  God?"  (Job.  117.)  Many  wise 
people  of  this  world  are  trying  to  search  out  God  but 
they  will  never  find  Him  until  they  are  willing  to  lay 
down  all  their  human  wisdom  and  reasoning,  and  ac- 
cept Him  as  a  little  child:  then  the  revelation  will 
come  to  them  as  it  did  to  Peter.  Right  after  this  rev- 
elation we  read  these  wonderful  words,  "Whatsoever 
thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven,  and 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed 


68  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

in  heaven."  This  power  was  not  merely  given  to 
Peter:  it  was  given  to  Christ's  Church.  It  belongs 
to  every  one  of  you  to  whom  this  revelation  has  come. 
If  we  have  had  the  revelation  from  our  Heavenly 
Father,  in  our  inmost  being,  that  Christ  is  the  Son  of 
God,  and  we  believe  on  Him,  then  this  power  is  given 
to  us. 

Years  ago  we  did  not  know  how  to  loose  people  that 
were  bound  by  the  Devil.  We  thought  that  we  could 
only  pray  for  them.  It  is  right  to  pray,  but  often  our 
prayers  cannot  be  answered  until  we  are  able  to  speak 
with  authority  and  loose  the  one  whom  Satan  has 
bound.  Mr.  Montgomery  will  remember  how  many 
times  we  have  felt  our  powerlessness  in  past  years, 
when  we  were  dealing  with  souls  in  an  after-meeting ; 
we  would  present  the  Gospel  to  sinners  and  they 
would  seern  interested,  but  when  we  asked  them  for 
some  response  they  were  simply  dumb,  and  could  not 
seem  to  speak  a  word.  They  were  so  bound  by  the 
power  of  the  Devil  that  they  could  not  answer.  Now 
we  would  know  how  to  loose  those  souls  so  that  they 
could  get  freedom  to  use  their  own  will  power.  The 
Lord  shows  us  in  Matthew  12:29  that  we  must  "first 
bind  the  strong  man"  before  we  can  "spoil  his  goods/' 
I  can  never  begin  to  tell  you  what  this  power  has 
meant  in  our  ministry  the  last  few  years.  The  Lord 
has  enabled  us  again  and  again  to  bind  the  strong 
man  (the  Devil)  who  has  taken  a  person  captive  at 
his  will.  We  bind  the  strong  man  by  faith  in  Jesus'  al- 
mighty Name,  and  spoil  his  goods  and  then  cast  him 
out  according  to  Mark  16:17,  "In  My  Name  shall  they 
cast  out  devils."  Then  we  would  immediately  find 
a  great  difference  'in  dealing  with  them,  and  they  would 
be  able  to  exercise  their  own  free  will  in  yielding  to 
Christ.  I  have  seen  such  people  fully  delivered.  But 
I  have  also  known  them,  in  some  cases,  to  draw  back 
and  not  go  on  to  be  filled  with  the  blessed  Holy  Spirit, 
and  because  there  was  no  One  within  who  could  keep 
the  temple,  the  demon  would  return  with  seven  other 
spirits  more  wicked  than  himself  and  get  possession 
again,  and  the  last  state  of  this  man  is  said  to  be  worse 


THOU  ART  LOOSED  69 

than  the  first.    It  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  make 
you  understand  the  frightful  power  which  the  Devil 
has  put  upon  some  that  we  have  known  through  their 
getting  into  Spiritualism  and  other  occult  things,  and 
cults  that  deny  the  atoning  blood  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Some  have  gone  into  these  ignorantly,  because  they 
have  not  known  the  Word  of  God,  but  if  they  see  the 
error  and  really  want  God,  He  will  send  some  one  to 
loose  them  from  Satan's  power,  and  to  lead  them  into 
His  truth.     There  are  many  cults  today  that  deny  the 
blood  of  Jesus,  but  God  has  said  that  there  is  no  re- 
mission of  sins  except  through  the  shedding  of  Jesus' 
blood.     The  enemy  is  deceiving  many  because  they 
have  not  the  love  of  the  truth,  and  God  is  permitting 
them  to  be  deceived.    There  are  many  things  that  the 
devil  uses  to  get  power  over  people,  some  seemingly 
innocent,  such  as  the  little  instrument  that  we  used  to 
call  "Planchette"  now  called  the  Ouija  board,  Palm- 
istry, fortune-telling  by  cards,  etc. ;  these  are  used  by 
the  Devil  as  an  entering  wedge  to  get  in  his  power, 
and  prepare  his  way  for  things  that  are  more  evil.  One 
of  our  workers,  visiting  a  sick  lady    found    herself 
strangely  powerless  to  pray  for  healing  for  this  one, 
and  she  did  not  understand  it  until  upon  one  of  her 
visits  she  saw  a  Ouija  board  lying  on  her  bed.     Con- 
tact with  any  of  these  things  leaves  an  impress  in 
brain  or  nerve  (even  when  not  received  by  one's  spirit) 
which  it  is  impossible  to  get  complete  deliverance  from 
until  it  is  cast  out  by  some  believing  child  of  God. 
So,  dear  ones,  if  any  of  you  have  ever  touched  "the 
unclean  thing,"  even  though  it  was  years  ago,  go  to 
some  faithful  children  of  God  and  confess  it,  and  get 
cleansing  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  have  them  loose 
you  from  its  effects. 

Turn  to  Luke  19:31.  This  refers  to  the  loosing  of 
the  colt;  "and  if  any  man  ask  you  why  do  you  loose 
him,  thus  shall  ye  say  unto  him,  because  the  Lord 
hath  need  of  him."  If  people  ask  why  we  want  to 
loose  those  who  are  bound  by  Satan,  it  is  because  our 
blessed  Lord,  who  created  them,  and  redeemed  them, 
and  to  whom  they  belong,  has  need  of  them  in  His 


70  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

service.  He  has  need  of  every  one,  and  wants  every 
one  to  be  loosed:  loosed  from  our  sins,  loosed  from 
our  sicknesses,  loosed  from  our  prejudices,  loosed 
from  our  own  thoughts  and  reasonings,  loosed  from 
every  bondage  and  made  free  to  serve  Him  and  to 
show  forth  His  glory.  Is  not  that  a  blessed  motive 
for  being  set  free  and  for  setting  others  free  ? 

Turn  to  John  11:4.  This  follows  the  record  of  the 
resurrection  of  Lazarus  through  the  power  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  "and  he  that  was  dead  came  forth,  bound  hand 
and  foot  with  grave  clothes:  and  his  face  was  bound 
about  with  a  napkin.  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  loose  him 
and  let  him  go."  This  is  a  picture  of  those  who  are 
raised  from  the  dead  and  yet  they  have  hanging  about 
them  more  or  less  of  that  which  pertains  to  the  old 
captivity.  To  use  another  illustration,  speaking  of  the 
sin  which  still  clung  to  him,  even  after  he  was  born 
of  God,  we  hear  Paul  saying,  "O  wretched  man  that 
I  am!  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this 
death?"  This  figure  is  taken  from  an  old  Roman  mode 
of  punishing  a  criminal.  They  fastened  to  a  living 
criminal  the  body  of  a  dead  criminal,  and  the  man  in 
his  cell  was  compelled  to  have  with  him  this  loathsome 
thing,  from  which  he  could  not  make  his  escape ;  and 
it  became  more  and  more  offensive  until  the  fumes 
from  it  poisoned  and  finally  suffocated  him.  Paul  uses 
this  graphic  picture  to  show  us  the  loathsomeness  of 
the  old  self,  or  as  it  is  called,  the  "old  man."  If  you 
have  been  saved,  and  yet  have  never  had  the  blood 
applied  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  that  you  have  not  been 
delivered  from  sin  in  your  daily  life,  you  know  what 
that  means;  but  there  is  a  glorious  deliverance.  So 
we  hear  Paul  crying  out  in  triumph,  in  answer  to  his 
own  question ;  "I  thank  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord."  I  understand  that  the  expression,  "washed  .  .  . 
from  our  sins  in  His  own  blood,"  is  in  the  original, 
"loosed  from  our  sins,"  therefore  we  need  not  have 
hanging  to  us  these  evil  tempers,  and  unkind  thoughts, 
and  criticisms,  lack  of  love,  or  any  of  the  old  self,  the 
fumes  of  which  come  up  to  choke  ourselves  and  others 
around  us.  We  may  take  our  freedom  through  Jesus 


THOU  ART  LOOSED  71 

Christ  our  Lord,  for  we  are  loosed  from  all  these 
things  by  His  own  blood.  He  tells  us  that  we  are  to 
reckon  ourselves  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  and  alive  unto 
God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  We  must  know 
Jesus  Christ  as  our  Lord,  our  Master,  our  King,  and 
must  be  fully  surrendered  unto  Him  and  then  we  shall 
know  complete  deliverance  from  the  old  self  and  from 
sin  through  Him.  Notice  that  the  grave  clothes  which 
were  upon  Lazarus  were  upon  a  man  who  was  alive 
and  not  on  a  dead  man.  He  was  bound  hand  and  foot, 
and  his  face  was  bound  with  a  napkin.  If  you  are 
bound  hand  and  foot,  you  cannot  walk  for  Jesus  or 
work  for  Jesus.  This  is  a  description  of  some  Chris- 
tians that  I  know.  They  have  been  made  alive  in 
Christ,  but  they  cannot  work  for  Him.  If  the  napkin 
is  about  your  face,  you  cannot  talk  or  testify  for  Him. 
God  wants  us  not  only  to  be  made  alive,  but  to  be  set 
free,  that  the  grave  clothes  may  be  loosed,  that  we  may 
walk,  and  talk  and  work  for  Jesus.  Who  was  it  that 
said,  "Loose  him,  and  let  him  go?"  It  was  the  One 
who  had  raised  him  from  the  dead.  Who  will  loose 
you  from  the  bondage  of  the  old  man  of  sin?  The 
One  who  brought  you  from  death  to  life.  He  cannot 
deliver  you  if  you  just  ask  Him  to  help  you,  but  He 
will  deliver  you  if  you  want  Him  to  rule  over  you.  If 
you  say,  "I  will  have  this  Man  to  reign  over  me/'  then 
He  will  establish  His  reign  in  your  life,  and  you  will 
have  nothing  to  do  but  to  obey  Him  as  the  blessed 
Holy  Ghost  leads  you  in  His  righteousness.  After 
Lazarus  was  raised  up  and  loosed  they  made  a  supper 
in  honor  of  Jesus,  and  we  read  that  "Lazarus  was  one 
of  them  that  sat  at  the  table  with,  Him."  This  man 
would  not  have  been  able  to  sit  at  the  table  and  feast 
with  Jesus  if  he  had  not  been  loosed  from  his  grave 
clothes.  If  you  are  loosed  from  your  old  grave  clothes 
you  will  be  able  to  sit  at  the  table  and  feast  with  Jesus, 
and  have  perfect  communion  with  Him. 

See  Luke  13:12.  In  the  context  we  read  of  a 
woman  which  had  a  spirit  of  infirmity  eighteen  years, 
and  was  bowed  together,  and  could  in  no  wise  lift  up 
herself.  "And  when  Jesus  saw  her,  He  called  her  to 


72  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

Him,  and  said  unto  her,  Woman,  thou  art  loosed  from 
thine  infirmity.  And  He  laid  His  hands  on  her:  and 
immediately  she  was  made  straight,  and  glorified  God/' 
She  received  the  spiritual  blessing  as  well  as  the  phys- 
ical, and  could  glorify  God  with  the  voice  of  praise. 
Jesus  said,  "Thou  art  loosed."  She  believed  Him,  or 
she  would  not  have  been  made  free.  Jesus  says  to  you 
today,  "Thou  art  loosed.  I  have  already  paid  the  debt 
for  you  on  Calvary."  We  read  in  Col.  2:14,  15,  that 
He  "blotted  out  the  handwriting  of  ordinances  that 
was  against  us,  which  was  contrary  to  us,  and  took 
it  out  of  the  way,  nailing  it  to  His  Cross/' — that 
handwriting  that  nothing  but  the  blood  of  Jesus  could 
efface.  He  "spoiled  principalities  and  powers,  and 
made  a  show  of  them  openly/'  thus  making  provision 
for  us  to  be  loosed  from  all  their  power.  Just  as  this 
woman  believed  the  word  that  Jesus  spoke  to  her,  so  we 
must  believe  that  we  are  loosed  from  our  sins  and  sick- 
nesses by  His  death  on  the  Cross.  We  can  only  enter 
into  the  benefits  of  His  Atonement  through  faith  in 
His  word.  How  we  need  to  have  the  Holy  Spirit  take 
possession  of  us  that  He  may  show  us  our  inheritance, 
and  teach  us  how  to  appropriate  it. 

Let  us  also  look  at  Acts  16  -.25,  26.  This  is  a  record 
of  the  imprisonment  of  Paul  and  Silas  because  they 
had  preached  the  Gospel.  We  read  that  they  had  many 
stripes  laid  on  them,  and  they  were  put  in  the  inner 
prison,  and  their  feet  were  fast  in  the  stocks.  We 
know  that  they  must  have  been  in  great  physical  suf- 
fering from  such  treatment.  But  what  did  they  do? 
What  would  you  and  I  have  done?  I  fear  that  some 
of  us  would  have  murmured,  and  thought  we  were 
having  a  pretty  hard  time.  But  we  read  that  "at  mid- 
night Paul  and  Silas  prayed,  and  sang  praises  unto 
God :  and  the  prisoners  heard  them/'  "  It  was  "mid- 
night/' Is  it  midnight  with  you,  beloved?  Begin  to 
praise  Him !  Are  your  feet  fast  in  the  stocks,  so  that 
you  cannot  go  where  you  would?  Begin  to  praise 
Him !  What  occurred  when  they  began  to  praise 
Him?  "And  suddenly  there  was  a  great  earthquake. 
:so  that  the  foundations  of  the  prison  were  shaken: 


THOU  ART  LOOSED  73 

and  immediately  all  the  doors  were  opened  ,and  every 
one's  bands  were  loosed."  'The  prisoners  heard 
them."  Oh,  if  there  is  one  spiritual  exercise  more  than 
another  that  will  loose  our  bands,  and  those  of  others, 
it  is  praise, — praise  at  midnight.  You  may  not  see 
anything  to  praise  for,  but  if  you  will  begin  to  praise 
God  for  Himself,  for  His  holy,  unchangeable  char- 
acter, for  His  great  grace  toward  us,  even  while  we 
were  yet  sinners,  for  His  wonderful  plan  of  salvation, 
you  will  not  get  very  far  before  it  will  be  easy  to 
praise  Him  even  for  the  trials,  and  then  the  bands  will 
loosen  and  fall  off. 

Now  let  us  look  at  Isa.  58 :6,  and  we  will  see  that 
God  requires  of  us  that  we  shall  loose  the  bands  of 
others.  God  is  finding  fault  with  the  house  of  Jacob 
because  they  had  made  a  pretense  of  approaching  God 
with  fasting,  and  yet  without  the  right  motive.  But 
God  says  to  them,  "Is  not  this  the  %  fast  that  I  have 
chosen  ?  to  loose  the  bands  of  wickedness,  to  undo  the 
heavy  burdens,  and  to  let  the  oppressed  go  free,  and 
that  ye  break  every  yoke  ?  Is  it  not  to  deal  thy  bread 
to  the  hungry,  and  that  thou  bring  the  poor  that  are 
cast  out  to  thy  house?  when  thou  seest  the  naked,  that 
thou  cover  him ;  and  that  thou  hide  not  thyself  from 
thine  own  flesh."  Many  who  are  doing  much  for 
others  are  not  willing  to  do  for  their  own  relatives. 
Notice  especially  the  words,  "to  loose  the  bands  of 
wickedness."  Beloved,  God  has  set  you  and  me  free 
for  one  thing  supremely,  and  that  is  because  the  Lord 
hath  need  of  us  in  His  service.  In  this  passage  we 
have  a  perfect  picture  of  what  He  is  calling  us  to  do. 
We  see,  however,  people  who  desire  to  be  healed^  of 
their  sickness,  but  have  not  the  slightest  idea  of  giving 
their  life  to  God  for  His  service.  They  want  to  settle 
down  to  a  life  of  ease,  and  pleasure  and  selfishness.  I 
believe  that  I  can  assure  you  today  that  if  you  are 
sick  or  in  trouble,  that  if  you  will  promise  God  that 
when  He  heals  you,  every  ounce  of  your  strength  will 
be  at  His  disposal,  He  will  deliver  you  speedily,  ac- 
cording to  the  promises  in  verse  8  of  this  same  chapter, 
"Then  shall  thy  light  break  forth  as  the  morning,  and 


74  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

thine  HEALTH  shall  spring  forth  SPEEDILY:  and 
thy  righteousness  shall  go  before  thee:  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  shall  be  thy  rereward.  Then  shalt  thou  call 
and  the  Lord  shall  answer;  thou  shalt  cry,  and  He 
shall  say,  Here  I  am/'  We  see  that  this  means  an 
utterly  unselfish  life,  a  sacrificial  life  like  that  of 
Christ,  who  "went  about  doing  good  and  healing  all 
that  were  oppressed  of  the  Devil."  Sometimes  when 
the  flesh  might  grow  weary  with  the  continuous  cries 
from  suffering  and  bound  ones  which  come  to  us  by 
letters  from  all  over  the  world,  by  telegrams,  and  by 
many  telephone  calls  to  pray  for  the  oppressed,  and 
when  it  might  seem  too  much  for  flesh  and  blood  to 
endure,  we  hear  Him  saying  "Have  not  I  commanded 
thee  ?  Be  strong  and  of  a  good  courage ;"  and  we  trust 
Him  to  strengthen  us  with  might  by  His  Spirit  in  the 
inner  man,  and  we  say,  by  His  grace,  we  will  never 
lay  our  armor  down  until  we  sit  at  His  table,  and  He 
will  then,  as  He  promised,  gird  Himself,  and  serve  us. 


UNITED  BY  FAITH  TO  THE  PROMISES  75 


CHAPTER  XII. 
United  by  Faith  to  the  Promises. 

So  many  times  in  the  early  morning  some  special 
text  is  impressed  on  my  heart,  and  this  morning  it 
was  2  Peter  i  -.4.  Now  this  text  is  the  key-note  of  this 
little  Bible  study.  "Whereby  are  given  unto  us  ex- 
ceeding great  and  precious  promises :  that  by  these  ye 
might  be  partakers  of  the  divine  nature,  having  escaped 
the  corruption  that  is  in  the  world  through  lust." 
"Whereby ;"  the  emphasis,  as  it  came  to  me  this  morn- 
ing, was  upon  the  result  of  these  exceeding  great  and 
precious  promises.  One  of  the  results  is  that  through 
them  we  are  made  partakers  of  the  divine  nature. 
Often  when  I  see  people  who  are  professing  Chris- 
tians, and  even  real  Christians,  neglecting  the  Word, 
it  makes  me  feel  very  sad.  The  Word  in  Hebrews  4 :2 
shows  us  that  we  must  be  united,  or  linked,  to  the  Word 
by  faith  (see  margin).  If  we  are  not  linked  to  the 
Word  by  faith  it  will  have  no  effect  upon  us.  You 
must  say  just  what  God  says,  because  faith  is  an  echo. 
Say  to  Him,  "Thou  sayest  it  and  I  say  it  after  Thee," 
sand  even  if  your  faith  does  not  seem  very  great,  just 
say  it  over  and  over,  what  God  says.  For  instance, 
God  says,  f(I  am  the  Lord  that  healeth  thee"  so  your 
faith  must  say,  "Thou  ART  the  Lord  that  healeth  me." 
If  you  do  not  feel  that  you  are  linked  to  the  Word  by 
faith,  ask  God  to  link  you  up  to  it.  By  faith  in  the  ex- 
ceeding great  and  precious  promises  we  must  be  par- 
takers of  the  divine  nature.  What  do  you  need  this 
morning?  You  say,  "I  need  healing."  But  what  do 
you  need  more  than  healing?  You  need  faith.  You 
need  to  be  absolutely  in  touch  with  Him  as  the  little 
branch  is  in  touch  with  the  vine,  always  drinking  of 
the  goodness  and  of  the  sap  of  the  vine.  As  partakers 
of  the  divine  nature,  we  may  always  drink  of  Christ. 
Verse  8 :  "For  if  these  things  be  in  you,  and  abound, 


76  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

they  make  you  that  ye  shall  neither  be  barren  nor  un- 
fruitful in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
How?  Through  the  Word.  It  is  through  the  Word 
that  we  are  made  fruitful. 

Look  at  Psalm  107 120.  In  the  previous  verses  we 
read  of  those  who  are  so  very  ill  that  they  "draw  near 
unto  the  gates  of  death,"  and  it  is  then  that  they  "cry 
unto  the  Lord  in  their  trouble,  and  He  saveth  them 
out  of  their  distresses."  You  know  how  a  mother 
runs  when  she  hears  her  baby  cry ;  so  the  Lord  runs 
when  He  hears  our  cry.  "HE  SENT  HIS  WORD 
AND  HEALED  THEM."  How  are  we  to  be  healed? 
Through  the  Word :  always  through  being  linked  to  the 
Word.  Take  a  promise  and  ask  God  to  link  you  to  it 
by  faith.  The  Devil  likes  to  have  us  deal  in  generali- 
ties, but  God  deals  with  us  individually,  and  brings  to 
us  such  individual  promises,  and  gives  us  individual 
experiences.  It  is  "the  manifold  grace  of  God."  Some- 
times when  I  have  not  been  able  to  get  healing  quickly 
I  would  say,  "Now  Lord,  I  am  going  to  wait  on  Thee." 
"They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their 
strength."  Then  perhaps  I  am  called  away,  but  I  go 
back  as .  soon  as  possible,  and '  tell  the  Lord  that  I 
am  camping  right  there,  waiting  on  Him,  until  He  re- 
news my  strength.  This  is  the  place  where  the  Devil 
will  try  to  make  you  faint,  but  like  the  importunate 
widow,  do  not  go  away.  In  her  case  the  judge  was  so 
tormented  that  from  purely  selfish  motives,  he  at  last 
paid  attention  to  her,  but  not  so  the  Lord.  This  is  a 
parable  of  contrast.  If  the  unjust  judge  would  avenge 
the  poor  widow  because  of  her  importunity,  what  will 
not  the  just  Judge,  our  heavenly  Father,  do?  "Shall 
not  God  avenge  His  own  elect,  which  cry  day  and 
night  unto  Him,  though  He  bear  long  with  them?" 
Who  are  His  elect?  Are  you  His  elect?  If  you  cry 
unto  Him  day  and  night  you  are  His  elect,  and  you  will 
not  be  satisfied  without  God's  help  and  comfort  any 
more  than  a  baby  will  be  satisfied  without  its  mother 
when  it  cries  for  her.  You  can  never  fool  the  baby. 
The  Devil  comes  around  and  tries  to  soothe  us  with 
false  comfort,  but  God's  own  elect  will  cry  for  Him. 


UNITED  BY  FAITH  TO  THE  PROMISES  77 

"Though  He  bear  long  with  them."  There  is  the 
secret.  He  has  to  bear  with  us  in  our  unbelief,  and  in 
our  foolishness,  etc.,  but,  praise  the  Lord,  He  does 
bear  long  with  us,  and  when  He  gets  us  to  the  place 
of  complete  surrender  and  perfect  faith  He  can  work 
quickly  for  us. 

"He  spake  a  parable  to  this  end,  that  men  ought 
always  to  pray  and  not  to  faint."  The  Lord  wants  us 
to  be  full  of  courage,  and  not  to  faint.  These  are  days 
of  awful  strain,  and  we  must  live  up  in  the  Heavenlies, 
or  our  flesh  and  our  hearts  will  fail  at  the  terrible 
things  that  are  taking  place  in  the  world. 

See  Luke  4:32,  "And  they  were  astonished  at  His 
doctrine :  for  His  Word  was  with  power."  Now  why 
is  not  His  Word  to  us  always  with  power?  Because 
there  is  something  in  us  that  is  not  responsive  to  that 
Word,  and  that  is  why  we  have  to  get  down  before 
Him  and  let  Him  search  our  hearts.  It  is  because 
there  is  something  in  us  that  we  have* not  discerned  nor 
understood.  All  of  the  precious  promises  are  yea  and 
arren  to  us  in  Christ,  if  we  believe.  Ask  the  Lord  to 
search  out,  and  to  forgive  everything  in  you  that 
causes  you  not  to  believe.  Always  refuse  the  condem- 
nation of  the  Devil,  but  throw  yourself  open  to  the 
searching  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Turn  to  John  8:37,  "Ye  seek  to  kill  Me,  because 
My  Word  hath  no  place  in  you/'  Notice  that  the 
Words  of  Jesus  found  no  place  in  these  unbelievers. 
Do  we  give  Him  a  deep  place  for  His  Words?  Ask 
Him  to  forgive  you  that  there  is  not  sufficient  depth  of 
earth  in  your  hearts  for  His  blessed,  life-giving  Word, 
and  then  He  will  Himself  deepen  your  life,  and  make 
more  room  for  His  precious  commands  and  promises. 

John  6:63,  "It  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth ;  the 
flesh  profiteth  nothing:  the  Words  that  I  speak  unto 
you,  they  are  spirit,  and  they  are  life."  As  vou  feed 
on  God's  Word  more  and  more,  and  take  it  into  your 
hearts,  the  Holy  Spirit  will  quicken  vour  whole  being, 
— spirit,  soul"  and  body,  through  this  Word. 

Exodus  15:26.  Now  this  is  the  covenant  of  heal- 
ing in  the  Old  Testament:  "If  thou  wilt  diligently 


78  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

hearken  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  wilt  do 
that  which  is  right  in  His  sight,  and  wilt  give  ear  to 
His  commandments,  and  wilt  keep  all  His  statutes,  I 
will  put  none  of  these  diseases  upon  thee  which  I  have 
brought  upon  the  Egyptians ;  for  I  am  the  Lord  that 
healeth  thee."  In  the  New  Testament  the  covenant  is 
not  given  to  works,  but  to  faith.  "The  prayer  of 
FAITH  shall  save  the  sick"  (James  5:15).  How  do 
the  two  harmonize?  By  faith  we  hearken  diligently, 
and  by  faith  we  keep  the  Word,  because  Christ  in  us 
keeps  the  covenant.  He  bore  our  sins  on  the  Cross,  and 
He  bore  our  sicknesses  also  on  the  Cross  (Matt.  8:17). 
He  is  our  righteousness,  and  He  is  our  health. 

Lev.  26:15,  16:  "If  ye  shall  despise  My  statutes," 
etc.,  what  is  to  follow?  Read  the  list  of  ills,  viz.,  con- 
sumption, the  burning  ague,  etc.  There  may  be  a 
spiritual  cause  for  every  disease.  For  example,  if  you 
read  in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  chapter  18:8,  you  will 
see  that  "The  words  of  a  talebearer  are  as  wounds,  and 
they  go  down  into  the  innermost  parts  "of  the  belly." 
Somewhere,  away  back  in  the  past,  covered  with  the 
dust  of  years,  there  may  be  a  y/ound  that  your  tale- 
bearing made  in  the  heart  of  another.  But  the  dust 
of  years  does  not  cover  it ;  there  is  only  one  thing  that 
can  cover  it,  and  that  is  the  Blood  of  Jesus.  Perhaps 
this  very  thing  unconfessed,  has  caused  a  cancer  or 
evil  disease  in  your  own  body.  I  feel  that  there  is 
more  to  our  words  than  we  know.  We  are  to  speak 
evil  of  no  man.  God  tells  us  if  any  man  speak,  let  him 
speak  as  the  oracles  of  God,  (i  Peter  4:11). 

In  Matt.  8 :8  the  centurion  said,  "Speak  the  Word 
only,  and  my  servant  shall  be  healed."  What  kind  of 
faith  did  that  man  have  ?  The  prevailing  characteristic 
of  his  faith  was  that  it  depended  on  the.  Word  of  God 
alone.  David  says,  "I  had  fainted  unless  I  had  be- 
lieved to  see  the  goodness  of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of 
the  living."  Psa.  27:13. 

In  Psalm  119:25  we  have  the  prayer,  "Quicken 
Thou  me  according  to  Thy  Word."  To  quicken  is  to 
make  full  of  life.  How  may  I  be  quickened  ?  By  the 
Word  of  God,  through  the  Spirit  of  God.  Then  in 


UNITED  BY  FAITH  TO  THE  PROMISES  79 

verse  28  we  have,  "Strengthen  Thou  me  according  to 
Thy  Word."  In  Prov.  4 120-22  we  read,  "My  son,  at- 
tend to  My  Words ;  incline  thine  ear  unto  My  sayings. 
Let  them  not  depart  from  thine  eyes ;  keep  them  in  the 
midst  of  thine  heart.  For  they  are  life  unto  those  that 
find  them,  and  health  to  all  their  flesh."  Shall  we  not 
take  God  at  His  Word,  and  trust  Him  to  quicken  and 
strengthen  our  physical  being  as  well  as  the  spiritual, 
and  bring  health  to  all  our  flesh? 

In  Prov.  3:8  we  also  have  the  promise  that  the 
fear  of  the  Lord  and  righteousness  shall  be  "marrow 
to  thy  bones."  So  not  only  shall  we  find  health  to  all 
our  flesh,  but  also  the  marrow,  or  oil,  required  to  keep 
our  bones  young. 

In  closing  I  will  read  I  Kings  8:56,  which  I  can 
surely  give  as  my  own  personal  testimony  for  many 
years  along  this  line  of  renewal,  and  strength,  and 
healing  for  my  body :  "There  hath  not  failed  one  word 
of  all  His  good  promise  which  He  spake  by  the  hand 
of  Moses  His  servant/' 


80  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
"He  Rendered  Not  Again." 

The  Lord  has  put  upon  my  heart  a  little  message 
for  you  this  morning.  Let  us  pray  that  every  one  may 
have  his  portion.  We  pray,  "Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread/'  and  He  wants  to  give  us  today  the  bread  of 
God,  which  is  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  We  wants  us  to 
have  a  fresh  revelation  of  Jesus  today.  In  the  olden 
time  they  used  to  go  out  and  gather  the  manna  every 
day  fresh,  (except  on  the  Sabbath,  when  it  was  mi- 
raculously preserved.)  If  it  was  kept  over  any  day 
but  the  Sabbath  it  became  corrupt.  God  wants  us  to 

father  the  manna  fresh  every  morning ;  to  have  a 
resh  revelation  of  Jesus  every  morning ;  to  be  anointed 
with  fresh  oil.  I  cannot  begin  a  day  without  the 
heavenly  joy  and  courage  in  my  soul.  If  I  have  not 
that,  I  know  that  something  is  wrong.  I  cannot  have 
the  least  shadow  between  Jesus  and  me;  I  dare  not 
go  on  through  the  day  without  His  presence  and  help. 
If  there  is  the  slightest  shadow  I  ask  Him  if  I  have 
grieved  Him,  or  if  I  have  grieved  one  of  His  little 
ones.  Sometimes  we  grieve  one  of  His  little  ones  be- 
cause we  do  not  have  the  fulness  of  His  love  in  our 
looks  or  in  our  tones.  God  says  we  are  to  Him  like 
the  apple  of  His  eye  so  He  is  very  tender  of  us  all. 
He  speaks  to  us  and  says,  "My  little  children,  you  are 
so  very  dear  to  me ;  but  that  other  one  is  just  as  dear, 
and  I  want  you  to  know  how  to  be  tender  with  My 
tenderness,  and  have  My  perfect  love  toward  them. 
This  is  My  commandment  that  ye  lov£  one  another/' 
I  notice  that  I  am  always  able  to  exercise  faith  when 
I  am  filled  with  His  love.  Let  us  trust  Him  for  that 
love  to  be  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts. 

I  want  you  to  notice  this  morning  the  38th  chapter 
of  Isaiah.  In  this  chapter  we  have  a  wonderful  heal- 
jng,  a  great  miracle,  showing  the  mighty  power  of 


"HE  RENDERED  Nor  AGAIN"  81 

God,  and  we  also  have  a  grievous  failure  on  the  part 
of  the  one  who  was  healed.  I  suppose  a  great  many 
of  us  here  have  been  healed  in  the  past,  and  it  would 
be  well  for  those  of  us  who  have  been  thus  healed  to 
ask  the  Lord  to  show  us  if  we  have  failed  Him.  After 
He  has  so  wonderfully  manifested  His  power  in  us, 
through  healing  us  or  through  some  other  miracle  that 
God  has  wrought  for  us,  we  may  have  failed  Him,  and 
perhaps  this  is  the  reason  we  have  not  the  faith  which 
we  ought  to  have.  "In  those  days  was  Hezekiah  sick 
unto  death.  And  Isaiah  the  prophet  the  son  of  Amoz, 
came  unto  him  and  said  unto  him,  Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  set  thy  house  in  order:  for  thou  shalt  die  and 
not  live."  A  good  many  people  lose  their  courage 
when  the  doctors  say  that  they  are  going  to  die,  but 
here  the  Lord  Himself  sent  word  to  Hezekiah  that  he 
was  to  die  and  not  live.  Some  of  us  have  learned  that 
the  doctors  make  mistakes,  and  that  their  decrees  do 
not  necessarily  come  true.  Also  the  decrees  of  the 
doctors  are  often  reversed  through  prayer.  But  the 
word  came  from  God  through  the  prophet  that 
he  was  to  die.  Now  I  think  that  Hezekiah  had 
a  good  deal  of  faith  to  turn  his  face  to  the  wall 
and  talk  it  over  with  the  Lord.  He  believed  that 
the  Lord  was  able  to  reverse  His  own  decree,  and 
raise  him  up.  I  do  not  know  how  many  of  us  would 
have  faith  to  ask  for  healing  if  a  true  prophet  had 
brought  us  a  message  like  this  from  the  Lord.  "Then 
Hezekiah  turned  his  face  toward  the  wall,  and  prayed 
to  the  Lord  and  said,  Remember  now,  O  Lord,  I  be- 
seech thee,  how  I  have  walked  before  Thee  in  truth 
and  with  a  perfect  heart,  and  have  done  that  which 
was  good  in  Thy  sight."  It  is  a  blessed  thing  to  turn 
our  face  to  the  wall,  away  from  everybody  and  turn  to 
the  Lord ;  to  turn  our  face  away  from  dear  ones,  whose 
very  anxiety  might  hurt  our  faith;  to  turn  our  face 
away  from  the  unbelieving  ones  who  come  around  us 
and  try  to  take  away  our  faith.  The  Lord  says,  "Be- 
ware lest  any  man  spoil  you  through  philosophy  and 
vain  deceit."  Beware  even  though  it  comes  to  you 
through  your  dearest  friends;  turn  away  from  them. 


82  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

Do  not  regard  their  opinions  or  your  own  reasonings, 
but  look  only  to  God.  We  must  get  our  minds  under 
the  blood  and  have  only  the  mind  of  Christ.  It  is  the 
puffed  up  fleshly  mind  which  gets  into  error  these 
days.  The  human  mind  that  is  not  subject  to  the 
mind  of  Christ  is  the  soil  in  which  the  Devil  sows  his 
seeds  of  error. 

"And  Hezekiah  wept  sore.  Then  came  the  word 
of  the  Lord  to  Isaiah  saying,  Go  and  say  to  Hezekiah, 
thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  God  of  David  thy  father,  I 
have  heard  thy  prayer,  I  have  seen  thy  tears ;  behold 
I  will  add  to  thy  days  fifteen  years/'  Beloved,  per- 
haps you  have  wept  in  secret  in  some  lonely  place, 
but  God  has  seen  your  tears  and  has  heard  your 
prayers  and  He  will  answer. 

In  the  ninth  verse  we  read,  "The  writing  of  Heze- 
kiah, King  of  Judah,  when  he  had  been  sick  and  was 
recovered  of  his  sickness."  We  say  often  to  different 
ones  who  are  healed,  I  wish  you  would  write  us  your 
testimony  for  Triumphs  of  Faith.  Well,  Hezekiah 
wrote  his  testimony  and  it  is  there  in  God's  book. 
Now  in  this  testimony  Hezekiah  goes  back  and  tells 
about  his  past  experience  of  grief  and  sorrow  when  he 
thought  that  he  wras  to  be  cut  off  before  his  time.  He 
said,  "I  shall  not  see  the  Lord,  even  the  Lord  in  the 
land  of  the  living."  There  is  something  very  touch- 
ing in  this,  for  they  were  all  looking  for  the  Messiah. 
They  knew  that  He  was  coming  and  the  godly  Jews 
were  watching  for  His  appearing.  I  believe  that  Heze- 
kiah meant  that  if  he  should  die  at  this  time  he  would 
miss  a  possible  opportunity  of  seeing  the  Messiah 
while  he  yet  lived;  just  as  it  is  our  blessed  hope  in 
these  days  to  live  to  see  the  Lord  return  and  catch  away 
His  ready  ones.  This  motive  for  wanting  to  live  seems 
a  very  sweet  and  touching  one.  We  can  look  at  it  in 
this  way  when  we  ourselves  need  healing  because  the 
second  coming  of  our  Lord  seems  so  very  near.  Some 
people  say,  "It  makes  no  difference  to  me  if  I  die  or 
live  till  the  Lord  comes,  for  the  dead  in  Christ  will  be 
raised,  and  will  be  caught  up  with  the  changed,  living 
saints  to  meet  the  Lord/'  What  advantage  then  would 


"HE  RENDERED  NOT  AGAIN"  83 

it  be  to  live  to  see  Jesus  come  ?  Beloved,  there  must  be 
some  who  will  "remain"  until  the  coming  of  the  Lord, 
and  who  will  overcome  death  by  translation.  "Then 
will  come  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written,  death  is 
swallowed  up  in  victory/'  We  are  told  that  we  shall 
not  all  sleep  but  we  shall  all  be  changed,  in  a  moment, 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Think  of  the  suddenness 
of  the  change.  How  solemn  it  is ;  one  shall  be  taken 
and  another  left.  Also  how  solemn  it  is  to  read  the 
parable  of  the  ten  virgins,  that  only  the  five  who  have 
the  extra  supply  of  oil  will  be  ready  to  go  in  with  the 
Bridegroom.  The  other  five  virgins  realized  their 
need  of  the  oil  too  late,  and  though  they  went  to  buy, 
they  found  on  their  return  that  the  door  was  shut.  The 
Lord  tells  us  to  pray  always  that  we  may  escape  these 
things  that  are  coming  to  pass  on  the  earth,  and  to 
stand  before  the  Son  of  Man.  I  believe  that  it  will  be 
a  wonderful  thing  to  be  among  those  for  whom  God 
overcomes  death  in  their  mortal  bodies. 

Hezekiah  goes  on  to  say,  "Oh,  Lord,  I  am  op- 
pressed; undertake  for  me."  Is  not  that  blessed  to 
have  the  Lord  undertake  for  us  and  to  cast  all  our 
care  upon  Him,  even  the  care  of  our  faith,  for  He 
is  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith.  Hezekiah 
continues,  "What  shall  I  say?  He  hath  both  spoken 
unto  me  and  Himself  hath  done  it.  I  shall  go  softly 
all  my  years  in  the  bitterness  of  my  soul."  We  see 
how  Hezekiah  was  humbled,  and  nothing  before  God. 
Have  we  not  all  had  such  an  experience  of  being  hum- 
bled before  God,  and  then  felt  His  healing  hand,  and 
we  meant  to  always  "go  softly"  after  this?  Hezekiah 
meant  to  do  this  but  he  failed  God.  What  does  it  mean 
to  walk  softly  before  Him?  It  means  that  we  will 
never  fail  to  hear  His  slightest  whisper ;  it  means  that 
He  can  get  our  attention  at  any  time.  It  means  also 
to  always  obey  the  voice  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Hezekiah 
was  blessed  spiritually,  as  well  as  being  healed  in  body. 
He  says  in  his  testimony,  "Thou  hast  in  love  to  my 
soul  delivered  it  from  the  pit  of  corruption;  for  Thou 
hast  cast  all  my  sins  behind  Thy  back/'  I  have  noticed 
that  so  many  times  people  receive  such  a  spiritual 


84  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

blessing  with  a  genuine  healing  from  God.  "The  liv- 
ing, the  living,  he  shall  praise  Thee  as  I  do  this  day; 
the  father  to  the  children  shall  make  known  thy  truth. 
The  Lord  was  ready  to  save  me :  therefore  we  will  sing 
my  songs  to  the  stringed  instruments,  all  the  days  of 
our  lives  in  the  house  of  the  Lord."  (iQth  verse). 
Hezekiah  was  full  of  praise  and  song ;  but  he  did  not 
know  the  weakness  of  his  own  heart.  And  of  course 
he  did  not  have  the  salvation  of  our  Lord  Jesus  to  keep 
him  as  you  and  I  have.  He  failed  to  "walk  softly." 
We  find  a  side  light  to  this  story  in  2  Chron.  32 124, 
"In  those  days  Hezekiah  was  sick  to  the  death  and  he 
prayed  unto  the  Lord  and  He  spake  unto  Him  and 
He  gave  him  a  sign  (margin,  wrought  a  miracle  for 
him)  ;  but  Hezekiah  rendered  not  again  according  to 
the  benefit  done  unto  him  for  his  heart  was  lifted  up." 
Look  next  at  the  3ist  verse.  Here  we  read,  "Howbeit 
in  the  business  of  the  ambassadors  of  the  princes  of 
Babylon,  who  sent  unto  him  to  enquire  of  the  wonder 
that  was  done  in  the  land,  God  left  him  to  try  him, 
that  he  might  know  all  that  was  in  his  heart."  Why 
did  these  ambassadors  come?  It  is  plainly  stated  in 
Isa.  39 :  i ,  that  they  had  heard  that  Hezekiah  had  been 
sick  and  also  recovered,  so  we  know  that  this  was 
the  wonder  in  the  land  that  they  came  to  enquire  about. 
What  an  opportunity  for  Hezekiah  to  tell  these  heathen 
princes  about  the  true  God,  and  His  great  mercy  and 
power,  but  God's  word  tells  us  that  the  reason  for  his 
failing  God  was  that  his  heart  was  lifted  up.  "Heze- 
kiah was  glad  of  them,  and  shewed  them  the  house  of 
his  precious  things,  the  silver,  and  the  gold,  and  the 
spices,  and  the  precious  ointment,  and  all  the  house 
of  his  armour,  and  all  that  was  found  in  his  treasures : 
there  was  nothing  in  his  house,  nor  in  all  his  dominion, 
that  Hezekiah  shewed  them  not."  (Isaiah  39:2).  He 
took  this  opportunity  that  he  had  for  testimony  and 
exalted  himself  instead  of  God,  showing  them  all  of 
his  earthly  treasures.  Dear  ones,  when  people  come  to 
see  you,  do  you  take  this  opportunity  to  talk  about 
Jesus  and  your  spiritual  treasures  in  Him,  or  do  you 
talk  of  the  world  and  show  them  your  earthly  treas- 


"HE  RENDERED  NOT  AGAIN"  85 

ures?  It  is  good  to  have  texts  hanging  on  the  walls 
of  our  houses,  for  they  are  a  testimony  for  God  to 
those  who  come  in.  %  Beloved,  watch  for  opportunities 
to  give  your  testimony  and  tell  the  glad  tidings  of  sal- 
vation and  healing.  We  must  work  for  the  night  is 
coming,  when  no  man  can  work.  Hezekiali  utterly 
failed  God  and  God's  wrath  came  upon  him  and  upon 
Judah  and  Jerusalem;  but  when  Hezekiah  humbled 
himself,  God's  mercy  was  again  extended  to  him, 
therefore  the  punishment  did  not  come  during  his  life- 
time. If  his  sons  had  also  humbled  themselves,  we 
believe  the  judgment  could  have  still  been  delayed. 

If  we  have  failed  God  in  withholding  testimony  to 
His  goodness,  let  us  humble  ourselves  as  Hezekiah  did, 
and  God  will  forgive  and  not  let  His  wrath  fall  upon 
us.  May  we  realize  that  we  have  been  put  in  trust 
with  this  blessed  full  gospel  and  that  we  are  am- 
bassadors for  Him.  If  you  and  I  will  trust  Him  to 
make  us  faithful  stewards  of  His  heavenly  mysteries, 
we  shall  glorify  Him  and  receive  at  last  a  crown  that 
fadeth  not  away. 


86  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
"Whatsoever  He  Doeth  Shall  Prosper." 

In  Psalm  i  we  have  the  picture  of  a  man  who  is 
pronounced  "blessed,"  by  the  Lord.  Let  us  notice 
carefully  the  characteristics  which  make  this  man 
blessed,  happy  and  successful.  We  will  notice  that 
there  are  four  conditions  for  the  man  to  measure  up 
to,  and  four  results. 

i.  "Blessed  is  the  man  that  walketh  not  in  the 
counsel  of  the  ungodly."  We  often  come  to  crises  in 
our  lives  when  we  feel  that  our  own  wisdom  is  ex- 
hausted ;  we  know  not  what  way  to  turn,  nor  what 
to  do  next.  As  we  read  the  life  of  David,  we  see  that 
in  one  difficulty  after  another  he  "inquired  of  the 
Lord/'  and  he  not  only  asked  at  the  beginning  of  an 
undertaking,  but  step  after  step  he  asked  counsel  of 
God.  We  see  this  remarkably  brought  out  in  2  Sam- 
uel 5:18-25.  When  the  Philistines  came  and  spread 
themselves  in  the  valley  of  Rephaim,  "David  inquired 
of  the  Lord  saying,  Shall  I  go  up  to  the  Philistines? 
Wilt  Thou  deliver  the  Philistines  into  my 'hand  ?"  This 
time  the  Lord  told  David  to  go  up,  and  assured  him  of 
victory.  In  verse  22  we  read  that  "the  Philistines 
came  up  yet  again,  and  spread  themselves  in  the  valley 
of  Rephaim."  If,  at  this  juncture,  David  had 
trusted  his  own  judgment,  or  had  counselled  with 
those  who  knew  not  God's  mind,  he  might  have 
reasonably  thought  that  he  could  go  again  as  before, 
and  have  the  same  victory.  But  we  read  that  David 
Inquired  of  the  Lord  again  in  this  new  crisis,  and  this 
time  the  Lord  answered,  "Thou  shalt  not  go  up;  but 
fetch  a  compass  behind  them,  and  come  upon  them  over 
against  the  mulberry  trees,  and  let  it  be  when  thou 
nearest  the  sound  of  a  going  in  the  tops  of  the  mulberry 
trees,  that  then  thou  shalt  bestir  thyself;  for  then 
shall  the  Lord  go  out  before  thee  to  smite  the  host  of 


"WHATSOEVER  HE  DOETH   SHALL  PROSPER"        87 

the  Philistines/'  It  is  our  privilege  and  duty  to  in- 
quire of  the  Lord  afresh  at  every  turn  in  the  road, 
and  this  keeps  us  in  living  touch  and  constant  com- 
munion with  that  Blessed  One  whose  love  for  us  is 
so  great  that  He  counts  even  the  hairs  of  our  head. 
We  are  told  that  "the  eyes  of  the  Lord  run  to  and  fro 
throughout  the  whole  earth,  to  show  Himself  strong 
in  the  behalf  of  them  whose  heart  is  perfect  toward 
Him"  (2  Chron.  16:9).  But  when  we  allow  a  little 
pride  and  independence  to  keep  us  from  asking  counsel 
constantly  of  the  Lord,  He  is  obliged  to  say  of  us  as 
>He  did  of  Ephraim,  "I  will  go  and  return  to  My  place 
till  they  acknowledge  their  offense,  and  seek  My  face : 
in  their  affliction  they  will  seek  Me  early."  (Hosea 
5:15.)  When  we  turn  away  from  God's  counsel,  He 
is  obliged  to  let  trouble  come,  so  that  we  will  see  the 
error  of  our  ways,  and  return  to  Him.  When  we  fail 
to  have  a  child-like  spirit,  which  asks  God  about 
everything,  we  are  apt  to  turn  for  counsel  to  those  who 
know  not  God.  What  trouble  this  will  bring  to  a  child 
of  God  sooner  or  later,  for  God  will  have  us  to  be  sep- 
arate from  sinners  so  far  as  their  counsel  or  fellow- 
ship is  concerned.  Instead  of  turning  to  the  enemies 
of  the  Lord  for  counsel,  let  us  ask  His  own  dear  chil- 
dren who  are  lowly  and  true-hearted  and  get  them  to 
help  us  wait  on  the  Lord  until  His  voice  is  heard. 
"The  meek  will  He  guide  in  judgment;  The  meek  will 
He  teach  His  way."  He  tells  us  that  His  sheep  hear 
His  voice.  How  sweet  it  is  to  wait  upon  Him  in  every 
matter  where  we  need  wisdom,  and  to  make  no  move 
until  He  speaks.  We  shall  not  be  disappointed.  He 
never  waits  too  long.  He  waits  that  He  may  be 
gracious.  The  devil  will  try  to  make  us  rush  into  hasty- 
decisions,  but  God  tells  us  that  "He  that  believeth  shall 
not  make  haste."  He  will  guide  us  in  all  the  small 
things  as  well  as  the  great,  for  there  are  no  small 
things  with  God,  and  the  most  momentous  things  may 
hang  on  what  is  seemingly  the  most  trivial.  Lord,  may 
we  constantly  know  this  blessedness,  that  we  shall  not 
seek  or  receive  counsel  of  any  kind  from  the  ungodly ! 
II.  "Nor  standeth  in  the  way  of  sinners."  This 


88  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

means  that  we  are  not  to  go  into  the  paths  that  sinners 
frequent,  where  we  are  apt  to  come  in  contact  with 
them.  Let  us  take  our  stand  continually  in  the  way  of 
the  godly.  If  we  are  not  yet  so  godly  as  we  want  to  be, 
let  us  still  go  with  the  godly ;  let  us  mingle  with  them  ; 
let  us  frequent  the  places  they  frequent;  let  us  come 
in  touch  with  them  at  every  point ;  let  us  seek  to  learn 
the  secret  of  their  close  walk  with  God.  Sinners  will 
not  try  to  entice  us  into  the  wrong  path,  if  we  do  not 
stand  in  their  way.  If  we  take  one  step  upon  the 
devil's  territory,  we  shall  have  a  hard  time  getting 
off  from  it. 

III.  "Nor  sitteth  in  the  seat  of  the  scornful!' 
We  have  been  reading  of  a  walk  and  of  a  standing 
which  must  be  avoided,  and  now  here  is  a  seat  which 
we  may  not  occupy.  To  "sit  in  the  seat  of  the  scorn- 
ful" is  to  take  a  seat  of  judgment,  and  to  pass  upon  the 
actions  of  others,  and  this  is  always  with  the  hard, 
unmerciful  judgment  which  comes  from  our  own 
naturally  hard  hearts.  There  is  a  discernment  which 
comes  from  the  Spirit  of  God,  through  which  He  often 
makes  known  to  us  the  heart-attitude  of  others,  but 
this  discerning  of  the  Spirit  has  in  it  no  harshness,  no 
scorn ;  but  is  full  of  divine  love  and  helpfulness. 

If  the  person  whom  we  discern  is  not  in  a  state  to 
allow  us  to  help  him  by  words  of  counsel,  the  Lord 
graciously  lays  a  burden  of  prayer  upon  us  for  him, 
and  this  is  a  love-burden  which  is  as  tender  as  the 
love  of  the  mother  for  a  child.  How  different  is  the 
sweet  discernment  of  the  Spirit  from  the  harsh  criti- 
cism which  even  Christians  often  indulge  in  towards 
other  children  of  God.  This  "sitting  in  the  seat  of  the 
scornful/'  will  cause  a  "root  of  bitterness"  to  spring 
up  in  one's  heart  which  will  trouble  him  and  defile 
many.  (Heb.  12:15.)  Unloving  and  scornful  thoughts 
will  soon  turn  into  unloving  words.  We  have  in 
Psalms  15  another  picture  of  a  man  who  shall  abide 
in  the  Lord's  tabernacle,  and  we  are  told  that  such  a 
man  doth  not  backbite  with  his  tongue,  or  take  up  (lit. 
receive  or  endure)  a  reproach  against  his  neighbor. 
May  not  these  words  explain  why  many  of  God's  chil- 


"WHATSOEVER  HE  DOETH  SHALL  PROSPER"      89 

dren  do  not  receive  answers  to  their  prayers?  It  is 
the  one  who  abides  in  Christ  who  may  ask  anything  in 
His  Name,  and  how  can  we  know  this  blessed  abiding 
if  we  sit  in  the  seat  of  the  scornful,  and  receive  re- 
proaches against  our  neighbor? 

If  you  will,  in  the  light  of  God's  Word,  watch 
your  own  heart  carefully,  God  will  show  you  some  very 
subtle  ways  in  which  you  may  be  sitting  in  the  seat  of 
the  scornful.  Naturally  we  have  such  pride  of  our 
own  opinion  that,  unless  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus  has 
made  us  like  Him  in  this  respect,  we  are  very  apt  to 
secretly  scorn  the  opinions  and  words  of  others,  even 
if  we  do  not  make  mention  of  it.  May  our  blessed 
Lord  take  away  from  us  all  subtle  forms  of  pride,  and 
may  we  always  stay  in  the  seat  of  the  learner,  as  Mary 
sat  at  Jesus'  feet. 

He  says,  "Come  and  learn  of  Me,  for  I  am  meek 
and  lowly  in  heart,  and  ye  shall  fiixd  rest  unto  your 
souls."  First  of  all,  He  will  reveal  to  us  His  meek- 
ness and  lowliness,  and  make  us  like  Him  in  this  re- 
spect. Thus  shall  we  be  kept  continually  in  the  place 
of  childlikeness  and  teachableness. 

IV.  "But  his  delight  is  in  the  law  of  the  Lord, 
and  in  His  law  doth  he  meditate  day  and  night" 

The  three  previous  conditions  have  been  negative, 
what  we  are  not  to  do.  Here  we  have  a  positive  con- 
dition. We  are  to  find  our  delight  in  God's  law,  and 
we  are  to  have  such  delight  in  it  that  we  will  meditate 
in  it  day  and  night.  This  meditation  seems  to  be  a 
spiritual  process  by  which  we  absorb  the  Word  as  a 
living  substance,  until  more  and  more  it  becomes  a 
part  of  us.  The  Word  of  God  is  "incorruptible  seed" 
which  springs  up  in  us  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
producing  life,  faith,  love,  health,  yea,  Christ  Himself 
in  all  His  fulness,  so  that  we  are  "made  partakers  of  the 
Divine  Nature." 

This  also  is  brought  out  in  the  text,  "Thy  words 
were  found,  and  I  did  eat  them,  and  they  were  unto  me 
the  joy  and  rejoicing  of  my  heart/'  As  we  put  our 
wills  over  on  God's  side  to  obey  Him  in  the  righteous- 
ness which  is  of  faith,  He  makes  place  in  our  hearts 


90  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

for  the  Word  of  God  in  its  wonderful  creative  power. 
Jesus  said  to  the  unbelieving  Jews,  "Ye  seek  to  kill  Me 
because  My  word  hath  no  place  in  you.3'  And  again, 
"Why  do  ye  not  understand  My  speech?  Because 
ye  cannot  hear  My  word."  (John  8:37-43).  God  is 
often  compelled  through  sorrow  and  great  trial  to 
make  more  room  for  His  Word,  even  in  the  hearts  of 
those  who  love  Him.  All  other  things  may  fail,  but 
if  we  are  filled  with  the  Word  of  God,  which  liveth  and 
abideth  forever,  there  will  be  that  in  us  which  can  never 
be  moved.  We  can  never  be  useful  Christians  unless 
the  Word  of  Christ  dwells  in  us  richly. 

We  are  living  in  perilous  days,  and  more  and  more 
we  need  to  be  filled  with  the  living  Word  of  God,  that 
rock-foundation  from  which  no  storm  can  move  us. 
As  the  Holy  Spirit  opens  to  us  the  Word  of  God,  He 
causes  it  to  be  in  us  a  "consuming  fire,"  burning  away 
our  dross,  and  He  also  makes  it, — as  the  prophet  said, 
a  "burning  fire"  in  our  very  bones,  so  that  God's  mes- 
sages will  burn  their  way  out  to  others.  As  the  Holy 
Spirit  causes  us  to  meditate  in  God's  Word  day  and 
night,  it  becomes  so  sweet  to  us  that  we  can  say  with 
the  Psalmist,  "How  sweet  are  Thy  words  unto  my 
taste!  Sweeter  than  honey  to  my  mouth!"  (Psalm 
119:103.) 

How  blessed  to  have  such  a  "taste"  for  the  Word 
of  God,  and  not  to  be  obliged  to  read  it  just  from  a 
sense  of  duty !  We  might  say  much  more  about  this 
understanding  of,  and  intense  love  for,  the  Word  of 
God  which  the  Holy  Spirit  is  able  to  impart,  but  we 
will  pass  on  to  the  four  results,  given  in  this  First 
Psalm. 

i.  "He  shall  be  like  a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers  of 
water."  Notice  that  this  is  a  tree,  and  not  the  heath 
in  the  desert  spoken  of  in  Jeremiah  17,  as  a  type  of 
the  man  who  leans  on  the  arm  of  man,  instead  of 
trusting  in  Jehovah.  This  tree  is  planted;  it  does  not 
grow  by  chance.  The  blessed,  holy  Gardener  has 
planted  it  in  the  soil  of  His  grace,  and  He  is  con- 
stantly watching  over  it.  And,  it  is  planted  by  the 


"WHATSOEVER  HE  DOETH  SHALL  PROSPER"      91 

rivers  of  water,  where  in  times  of  drouth  it  can  never 
lack  abundant  means  of  refreshing. 

II.  "That  bringeth  forth  his  fruit  in  his  season." 
Jeremiah  17:8  gives  us  another  picture  of  this  tree 
and  he  says  that  it  "shall  not  be  careful  in  the  year  of 
drought,  neither  shall  cease    from    yielding    fruit." 
So  we  see  from  this  that  the  "season"  spoken  of  in 
Psa.  i,  is  a  continual  season.    We  are  to  be  "instant  in 
season  and  out  of  season ;"  that  is,  it  may  seem  to  be 
"out  of  season"  from  a  human  standpoint,  but  as  the 
Spirit  leads  us,  it  is  always  God's  season  for  our  fruit- 
bearing.    And  Jesus  says,  "Herein  is  My  Father  glori- 
fied, that  ye  bear  much  fruit." 

III.  His  leaf  also  shall  not  wither!'     A  tree  is 
never  in  good  condition  unless  its  leaves  are  green  and 
fresh.     If  the  leaves  begin  to  wither,  we  know  that 
something  is  wrong  at  the  root.    But  the  roots  of  this 
blessed  tree  are  always  down  in  the-  River  of  God's 
grace,  which  flows  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
right  from  the  heart  of  the  Father,  through  our  Sav- 
iour Jesus  Christ.     If  we  are  abiding  in  Him,  our 
roots  never  fail  to  find  the  River. 

It  is  alas,  too  common  a  sight  to  see  Christians  who 
are  more  or  less  dried  up;  they  have  no  joy;  they  bear 
only  small,  poor  fruit  for  their  own  lives,  and  have 
none  to  give  to  others.  How  sad  is  their  condition, 
when  God  has  shown  us  that  we  are  to  have  "spreading 
branches"  to  be  "beautiful  as  the  olive  tree,"  and  our 
fragrance  is  to  be  "as  Lebanon,"  so  that  those  who 
"dwell  under  our  shadow"  shall  "return  and  revive  as 
the  corn,  and  grow  as  the  vine."  (Hosea  14:6,  7). 
If  a  child  of  God  reads  these  lines,  whose  joy  has  de- 
parted from  him,  he  may  speedily  return  to  the  Lord 
by  the  way  of  humiliation,  and  repentance  (asking 
God  to  search  out  the  root  of  the  trouble)  and  he  may 
let  his  roots  anew  seek  the  River  of  God,  and  find  re- 
viving and  fruitage  therefrom. 

IV.  "And  whatsoever  he  doeth,  shall  prosper" 
This  is  such  a  big  promise,  inclusive  of  so  many  other 
minor  promises,  that  we  shall  have  to  be  firmly  e«- 


92  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

tablished  in  the  four  conditions  of  this  Psalm,  before 
we  can  receive  it  in  faith. 

If  we  do  not  discount  this  promise,  but  take  it  for 
all  that  the  Bank  of  Heaven  issues  it  for,  our  lives  will 
take  on  new  meaning.  Of  course,  it  pre-supposes  that 
we  are  living  in  the  Spirit,  and  led  by  the  Spirit  con- 
tinually, and  that  therefore,  He  is  working  in  us  all 
the  time  "to  will  and  to  do  of  His  good  pleasure." 
Then,  in  the  power  of  this  wonderful  promise,  we  get 
such  glimpses  every  moment  of  God's  love  and  power, 
that  we  "observe"  all  of  His  Providences,  and  "under- 
stand the  loving-kindness  of  the  Lord."  (Psa.  107:43.) 

When  made  free  by  God's  grace  from  every  selfish 
desire,  the  Lord  can  so  "prosper"  us  in  every  way, 
spiritually  and  temporally,  that  every  undertaking  shall 
be  blessed  by  Him.  This  does  not  mean  that  we  shall 
lay  up  treasure  in  barns  and  store-houses,  for  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  essentially  that  of 
giving  out  continually  that  which  we  receive.  But 
He  will  make  us  channels  of  His  goodness,  and  He 
will  do  this  more  and  more  as  we  pour  out  of  His 
bounty  on  others.  This  does  not  mean,  either,  that  we 
shall  "prosper"  without  having  constant  trials  of  our 
faith,  for  Satan  always  contends  every  fresh  stand 
which  we  take  on  the  Word  of  God,  and  we  shall  have 
many  a  "good  fight  of  faith"  as  we  take  from  God 
our  rightful  inheritance.  But  in  every  battle  we  shall 
be  more  than  conquerors  as  we  stand  unwaveringly  on 
the  Word  of  God.  I  have  known  some  blessed  chil- 
dren of  God,  who  have  fulfilled  in  loving  obedience  the 
conditions  of  this  first  Psalm,  and  who  have  taken 
this  promise  just  as  it  reads ;  and  it  has  been  a  sweet 
evidence  of  the  faithfulness  of  God  to  see  everything 
prosper  that  they  have  undertaken  in  His  Name. 

May  we  all  launch  out  in  new  faith  to  prove  to 
an  unbelieving  world  the  power  of  our  Covenant-keep- 
ing Jehovah ! 


THIS  MIND  BE  IN  You"  93 


CHAPTER  XV. 
"Let  This  Mind  Be  in  You." 

In  Philippians  2:2  Paul  calls  upon  the  saints  to 
have  "the  same  love/'  to  be  "of  one  accord"  and  to  te 
of  "one  mind."  The  next  verse  shows  what  kind  of 
a  mind  he  desired  them  to  have,  in  order  that  they 
might  all  be  of  one  mind  in  Christ ;  "Let  nothing  be 
done  through  strife  or  vainglory;  but  in  lowliness  of 
mind  let  each  esteem  other  better  than  themselves." 
Again  in  the  fifth  verse  they  are  told  how  they  may 
have  such  a  lowly  and  unselfish  mind  as  described  in 
the  third  and  fourth  verses,  "LET  THIS  MIND  BE 
IN  YOU  WHICH  WAS  ALSO  IN  CHRIST 
JESUS. "  Then  follows  the  humiliation  of  Christ, 
making  Himself  of  no  reputation  (literal,  emptying 
Himself),  taking  upon  Himself  the  form  of  a  servant, 
being  made  in  the  likeness  of  men,  and  humbling  Him- 
self even  unto  the  death  of  the  cross  (5-6  verses). 
There  are  frequent  calls  in  the  Word  of  God  to  His 
children  to  be  of  one  mind,  and  it  used  to  be  a  wonder 
to  me  how  God  could  expect  us  to  be  of  one  mind 
when  people's  minds  were  so  different  one  from  an- 
other, and  I  had  often  said  people's  hearts  could  be 
one  in  Christ,  but  their  minds  could  never  be  dove- 
tailed together.  Praise  God  that  He  has  made  a  blessed 
revelation  to  me  of  the  way  in  which  this  command, 
to  be  of  one  mind,  can  be  obeyed.  There  is  only  one 
way,  and  this  is  when  His  little  ones  are  willing  to 
go  down  lower  and  lower  into  humiliation  and  death 
with  Jesus,  giving  up  their  own  reputations,  their  own 
opinions,  their  own  identity  even,  and  simply  letting, 
the  mind  of  Christ  entirely  displace  the  carnal  mind. 
Then  we  shall  indeed  be  one  in  that  lowliness,  and 
emptiness,  and  nothingness  which  Christ  works  out  in 
us.  Then  we  shall  be  able,  as  brothers  and  sisters, 
united  perfectly  in  our  blessed  Lord,  to  obey  the  com- 


94  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

mand  in  i  Cor.  i  :io,  "Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren, 
by  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  ye  all  speak 
the  same  thing,  and  that  there  be  no  divisions  among 
you;  but  that  ye  be  perfectly  joined  together  in  the 
same  mind  and  in  the  same  judgment!3  In  view  of 
what  we  usually  see  among  the  people  of  God  such  an 
experience  would  seem  well  nigh  impossible.  But  we 
know  that  God's  Word  would  not  command  an  im- 
possibility. So  it  remains  for  us  to  learn  how  to  reach 
up  to  the  Word  of  God.  How  sweet  it  is  to  read  i 
Cor.  2:16,  "BUT  WE  HAVE  THE  MIND  OF 
CHRIST/'  Since  this  is  true,  and  if  our  faith  meas- 
ures up  to  it,  all  difficulty  vanishes.  But  we  cannot 
and  must  not  be  double-minded,  for  a  double-minded 
man  is  unstable  in  all  his  ways.  If  we  seek  to  have 
the  mind  of  Christ,  and  at  the  same  time  to  exercise 
our  own  minds,  we  shall  have  no  stability  and  no  clear 
conception  of  the  deep  things  of  God.  "For  who  hath 
known  the  mind  of  the  Lord,  that  he  may  instruct 
Him?"  We  cannot  have  that  blessed  mind  of  Christ 
taking  possession  of  us  unless  we  are  willing  to  let 
our  own  mind  go  down  into  death  with  Jesus,  and 
know  continually  the  covering,  of  the  precious  blood 
upon  all  our  own  human  mentality.  In  these  days 
Satan's  seat  seems  to  be  largely  in  the  mind,  and 
through  this  has  come  Higher  Criticism,  wrong  in- 
terpretation of  the  Word,  and  an  utter  disregard  of 
God's  thoughts  and  commands,  in  the  intense  egotism 
and  pride  of  the  human  or  carnal  mind.  This  is  de- 
scribed in  Colossians  2  :i8,  by  the  words  "vainly  puffed 
up  by  his  fleshly  mind."  Here  we  see  that  the  "fleshly 
mind"  is  full  of  vanity.  Now  look  at  2  Cor.  10:4,  5, 
"For  the  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but 
mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong- 
holds ;  casting  down  imaginations  and  every  high  thing 
that  exalteth  itself  against  the  knowledge  of  God,  and 
BRINGING  INTO  CAPTIVITY  EVERY 
THOUGHT  TO  THE  OBEDIENCE  OF  CHRIST." 
This  brings  us  to  a  marvelous  experience,  far  beyond 
what  most  Christians  are  able  to  conceive  of.  God  help 
our  faith  to  reach  up  to  this.  The  marginal  reading  for 


"LET  THIS  MIND  BE  IN  You"  95 

imaginations  is  reasonings.  How  true  it  is  that  our 
human  reasoning  exalts  itself  against  the  knowledge  of 
God.  This  is  why  Satan  does  his  utmost  to  fill  us 
with  human  reasoning;  his  greatest  aim  always  is  to 
prevent  us  from  knowing  God.  "For  this  is  life  eternal, 
that  we  might  know  Thee,  the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  Christ  whom  Thou  hast  sent."  (John  17:3). 
The  Lord  Jesus  rejoiced  in  spirit  that  it  pleased  His 
Father  to  reveal  the  deep  things  of  the  Kingdom  unto 
'babes,  and  not  unto  the  wise  and  prudent.  We  shall 
have  this  childlike  or  babe-spirit  in  proportion  as  we 
are  willing  to  give  up  our  human  conceptions  of  Di- 
vine things,  and  yield  only  and  entirely  to  the  revela- 
tion of  the  Spirit  of  God.  These  reasonings  or  im- 
aginations, and  other  high  things  that  prevent  our 
knowing  God,  are  cast  down  by  "the  weapons  of  our 
warfare/'  which  are  "mighty  through  God  to  the 
pulling  down  of  strongholds."  He  provides  the 
weapons  and  then  uses  them  for  us.  We  see  in  Eph- 
esians  6:13-18,  what  these  spiritual  weapons  are.  In 
passing,  we  mention  them  briefly,  viz.,  Truth,  Right- 
eousness, the  Preparation  of  the  Gospel  of  Peace,  or  as 
Rotherham  so  beautifully  puts  it,  "Having  shod  your 
feet  with  a  readiness  of  the  joyful  message  of  Peace" 
(does  not  this  mean  to  be  ready  always  to  give  forth 
the  Gospel  message?),  the  Shield  of  Faith,  the  Helmet 
of  Salvation,  the  Sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the 
Word  of  God,  and  "All  prayer  and  supplication  in  the 
Spirit."  Why  are  so  many  of  God's  dear  children 
helpless  before  the  enemy?  Because  they  have  omitted 
to  take  part  of  the  armour,  and  especially  the  only 
aggressive  weapon  spoken  of,  which  is  the  Word  of 
God;  the  rest  of  the  weapons  are  all  defensive.  Is 
it  not  worth  while  to  wait  on  God  until  we  know  how 
to  avail  ourselves  of  these  weapons?  since  the  result 
is  promised  that  even  every  thought  shall  be  brought 
into  captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Jesus  Christ.  Roth- 
erham puts  it  still  stronger,  namely:  "Every  intent," 
and  our  motives  or  intents  are  back  of  our  thoughts. 
The  blessed  Lord  who  understands  our  thoughts  afar 
off  is  able  to  give  us  victory  over  the  very  intents  of 


96  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

our  hearts.  And  notice  that  it  is  not  that  they  are 
to  be  brought  into  captivity  to  our  obedience,  but  to 
the  obedience  of  Christ;  which  is  so  far  beyond  any 
thought  of  our  own  righteousness  that  we  can  only 
sink  down  upon  His  finished  work  and  His  blessed 
Word  of  promise,  and  rest  like  a  tired  child  in  its 
mother's  arms.  A  further  beautiful  description  of  the 
mind  of  Christ,  in  which  we  are  all  to  find  blessed 
unity,  is  to  be  found  in  i  Peter  3  :8,  "Finally,  BE  YE 
ALL  OF  ONE  MIND,  having  compassion  one  of 
another,  love  as  brethren,  be  pitiful,  be  courteous ;  not 
rendering  evil  for  evil,  or  railing  for  railing;  but 
contrariwise  blessing;  knowing  that  ye  are  thereunto 
called,  that  ye  should  inherit  a  blessing."  What  is  in- 
cluded in  the  "blessing"  here  spoken  of,  can  only  be 
known  by  those  who  have  thus  yielded  their  whole  be- 
ing, including  the  mind,  over  to  our  blessed  Saviour, 
and  have  realized  the  perfect  rest,  the  exquisite  peace, 
the  holy  joy  of  such  an  experience.  Then  shall  we 
truly  know  the  meaning  of  Isaiah  26:3,  "Thou  wilt 
keep  him  in  perfect  peace  WHOSE  MIND  IS 
STAYED  ON  THEE:  because  he  trusteth  in  Thee." 

In  these  last  awful  days  when  the  enemy  is  coming 
in  like  a  flood,  and  possessing  the  minds  of  all  who 
will  allow  him  to  do  so;  may  we,  God's  little  ones, 
claim  the  protection  of  the  precious  blood  continually 
over  our  minds ;  and  so  shall  we  be  preserved  blame- 
less, spirit,  soul  and  body. 

In  closing,  we  feel  that  it  will  be  for  God's  glory  to 
add  a  little  personal  testimony  as  to  how  He  has 
taught  me  to  keep  my  mind  under  the  blood  and 
abandoned  to  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  has 
been  especially  so  since  my  Pentecostal  baptism,  in 
1908.  It  has  been  so  sweet  to  have  my  mind  so  yielded 
to  Him  that  I  need  not  have  any  thought  or  opinion  of 
my  own,  but  wait  in  quietness  at  His  feet  for  Him  to 
fill  me  with  His  own  blessed  thought-life,  even  the 
mind  of  Christ.  In  this  way  I  have  been  kept  from 
leaning  to  my  own  understanding,  and  have  been  able 
to  acknowledge  Him  in  all  my  ways.  The  mental  rest 
and  physical  rest  which  has  thus  been  mine  is  un- 


"LET  THIS  MIND  BE  IN  You"  97 

speakable.  After  long  hours  of  close  mental  labor, 
which,  done  in  the  old  way,  would  have  been  most 
fatiguing,  I  find  my  mind  as  fresh  and  unwearied  at 
the  close  as  at  the  beginning.  Praise  God  for  His 
marvelous  provision  of  grace  for  our  threefold  being. 
Since  He  is  our  life  we  may  count  upon  Him  to 
vivify  and  continually  recuperate  spirit,  soul  and  body. 
Beloved,  we  have  only  been  taking  a  little  of  our  vast 
inheritance.  Let  us  trust  Him  to  enable  us  to  go  up 
and  fully  possess  the  land. 


98  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
Some  of  the  Hindrances  to  Healing. 

4'What  are  the  hindrances  to  my  healing?"  Many 
an  earnest  soul  is  asking  this  question,  and  as  we  con- 
sider some  of  the  hindrances  which  might  be  in  the 
way  of  some  of  our  dear  readers,  we  trust  that  the 
Lord  will  give  light  on  His  Word  so  that  they  may 
be  helped  over  their  difficulties. 

As  we  study  the  subject  of  Divine  Healing  in  God's 
Word,  we  see  that  it  is  connected  again  and  again 
with  the  command  to  "hearken  diligently!'  This  does 
not  mean  the  attitude  of  an  ordinary  Christian  on  a 
low  plane  of  experience,  but  an  abiding  in  Christ.  It 
is  true  that  we  have  seen  the  Lord's  willingness  to  heal 
even  the  unsaved  (when  they  were  willing  to  yield  to 
the  Lord)  but  it  has  often  seemed  easier  for  such  peo- 
ple to  trust  God  for  healing,  than  for  those  who  have 
had  a  great  deal  of  light  in  the  past,  and  who  have 
failed  to  walk  in  the  light.  After  one  has  had  a  touch 
of  the  Lord's  healing  power,  and  especially  when  one 
has  been  raised  from  what  otherwise  would  have  been 
a  death  bed,  by  the  miracle-working  power  of  God, 
it  seems  that  the  body  is  sacred  unto  the  Lord  in  a  new 
way,  and  that  such  an  one  must  walk  in  the  light  in  a 
new  and  deeper  way  than  ever  before.  We  also  believe 
that  such  an  one  must  be  continually  faithful  in  his 
testimony  to  the  Lord's  healing  power,  in  order  to  be 
kept  in  such  a  relationship  to  the  Great  Physician  that 
he  may  'be  filled  with  His  healing  life. ,  It  seems  com- 
paratively easy  at  first  for  the  sick  to  be  healed  by 
the  Lord,  as  He  meets  them  in  His  tender  compassioa 
and  healing  mercy,  but  when  one  has  been  thus  healed, 
and  has  failed  to  stand  as  a  faithful  witness,  or  has  not 
given  that  restored  life  to  the  Lord,  to  be  used  as  He 
directs,  it  is  not  so  easy  to  find  the  Great  Physician 
the  next  time.  It  was  after  the  children  of  Israel  had 


SOME  OF  THE  HINDRANCES  TO  HEALING      99 

been  brought  out  of  Egypt  that  God  made  with  them 
His  Covenant  of  Healing.  Even  before  that,  while 
they  were  still  in  Egypt  they  were  kept  from  the  plague 
which  destroyed  the  lives  of  all  the  first-born  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  by  the  blood  of  the  lamb  upon  the  door 
posts  and  lintels  of  their  houses.  But  now  when  they 
are  separated  from  Egypt  and  all  that  pertains  to  it, 
God  enters  into  a  direct  Covenant  with  them  in  which 
He  promises  to  keep  the  diseases  of  Egypt  from  them 
if  they  will  diligently  hearken  to  His  voice  and  obey 
His  statutes.  (Ex.  15:26).  Then  He  says,  "I  AM 
THE  LORD  THAT  HEALETH  THEE/'  We  read 
of  Israel  that  at  one  time  there  was  "not  one  feeble 
person  among  their  tribes,"  which  shows  how  God 
proved  His  power  to  heal  and  to  make  strong.  But 
Israel  would  not  hearken  and  we  read  in  Psa.  81:12, 
"But  My  people  would  not  hearken  to  My  voice ;  and 
Israel  would  none  of  Me.  So  I  gave  them  up  unto 
their  own  heart's  lust:  and  they  walked  in  their  own 
counsels."  Then  we  hear  what  seems  like  a  wail  from 
the  heart  of  God,  "Oh,  that  My  people  had  hearkened 
unto  Me  and  Israel  had  walked  in  My  ways !  I  should 
soon  have  subdued  their  enemies  and  turned  My  hand 
against  their  adversaries." 

It  is  true  that  we  are  not  now  under  the  law,  but 
under  Grace,  but  that  very  fact  makes  it  possible  for 
us  to  "hearken  diligently"  and  to  yield  perfect  obedi- 
ence, because  now  this  is  not  to  be  done  in  our  own 
strength  but  by  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  has  fulfilled  for  us  all  righteousness,  and  who 
will  work  it  out  in  us  as  we  are  fully  yielded  to  Him. 
Jesus  was  absolutely  obedient,  and  He  ever  hearkened 
to  His  Father.  As  we  take  the  place  that  God  tells  us 
to  take,  that  we  are  dead  and  our  lives  are  hid  with 
Christ  in  God;  we  enter  into  His  obedience  and  we 
may  claim  all  the  fruits  of  His  blessed  obedience,  in- 
cluding healing  of  the  body.  When  He  says,  "I  am  the 
Lord  that  healeth  thee"  we  may  answer  back  in  faith, 
"Thou  art  the  Lord  that  healeth  me."  Oh,  that  God's 
people  may  realize  that  it  is  not  a  light  thing  to  be 
healed  by  the  Lord  and  to  have  His  life  filling  their 


ioo  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

mortal  bodies!  A  body  healed  in  this  way  is  a  most 
sacred  thing-  and  as  we  realize  that  we  are  temples  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  we  are  to  be  very  careful  where  we 
take  these  bodies,  and  for  what  purpose  our  strength 
is  used.  God's  Word  says,  "A  faithful  witness  deliver- 
eth  souls/'  and  He  requires  us  to  be  most  faithful  in 
this  matter  of  bearing  testimony  to  His  healing  power. 
On  every  side  we  see  people  flocking  to  meetings  where 
are  taught  false  systems  of  healing,  which  deny  the 
atonement  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  which  exalt 
the  creature  and  not  the  Creator,  and  weak  souls  are 
often  drawn  into  these  terrible  delusions  because  God's 
children  have  not  been  faithful  to  teach  the  true  healing 
from  God's  Word,  and  to  stand  as  faithful  witnesses  to 
what  He  has  done  for  them.  We  read  in  2  Chron. 
32 :2'5,  that  "Hezekiah  rendered  not  again  according 
to  the  benefit  done  unto  him ;  for  his  heart  was  lifted 
up:  therefore  there  was  wrath  upon  him  and  upon 
Judah  and  Jerusalem/'  When  the  Princes  of  Babylon 
"Sent  unto  him  to  inquire  of  the  wonder  that  was 
done  in  the  land"  (verse  31),  Hezekiah's  heart  was  so 
filled  with  pride  that  he  showed  the  ambassadors  all 
his  wealth,  and  all  his  "precious  things,"  and  so  missed 
this  most  blessed  opportunity  for  telling  the  heathen 
King  about  hjs  wonderful  and  gracious  God.  It  is  not 
so  strange  that  Hezekiah  in  those  days  should  fail  God, 
but  in  these  days  of  great  light  and  privileges  it  does 
indeed  seem  strange  that  God's  dear  children  should 
so  fail  to  give  Him  glory  for  all  His  benefits.  Hezekiah 
showed  the  ambassadors  all  of  his  "precious  things," 
but  he  did  not  tell  them  of  that  which  should  have 
been  the  most  precious  of  all,  the  goodness  of  God 
in  working  a  miracle  for  the  healing  of  the  body. 
This  brings  us  to  the  searching  question,  "What  are 
our  precious  things?"  If  the  things  of  this  world  are 
precious  to  us  we  will  be  occupied  with  them,  and  will 
not  render  unto  the  Lord  according  to  all  that  He  hath 
done  for  us.  After  a  failure  of  this  kind  I  have  often 
seen  it  very  difficult  for  people  to  receive  healing 
again  from  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  and  it  has  been 
necessary  for  them  to  humble  themselves  greatly  be- 


SOME  OF  THE  HINDRANCES  TO  HEALING       101 

fore  He  would  be  entreated  of  them  again.  But, 
praise  His  dear  Name,  He  is  so  gracious,  and  so  long- 
suffering  that  when  we  do  humble  ourselves,  He  for- 
gives all  our  sins  and  failures,  and  turns  upon  us 
once  more  the  light  of  His  countenance. 

In  connection  with  the  subject  of  hearkening  dil- 
igently, I  am  sure  that  God's  people  many  times  do 
not  feed  upon  God's  Word,  as  they  ought,  or  they 
would  not  have  to  go  about  mourning  their  lack  of 
faith,  for  "  faith  cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the 
Word  of  God."  Ask  the  Lord,  dear  reader,  to  fill  you 
with  a  great  love  for  His  Word,  and  trust  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  open  it  to  you,  and  you  will  then  find  it  easy 
to  keep  in  that  attitude  of  hearkening  and  obedience 
which  will  make  it  possible  for  the  Lord  to  keep  His 
blessed  healing  life  filling  your  body. 

We  have  found  that  another  great,  difficulty  in  the 
way  of  Divine  Healing  is  the  lack  of  Divine  love  in  the 
hearts  of  God's  children.  It  is  remarkable  how  many 
times  we  have  found  some  child  of  God  cherishing 
a  secret  grudge  against  another  Christian.  Some- 
times it  has  been  a  thing  which  has  long  been  buried 
and  almost  forgotten.  The  sting  of  it  may  even  be 
past,  'but  it  has  been  a  "root  of  bitterness,"  against 
which  the  Bible  warns  us.  "Follow  peace  with  all 
men,  and  holiness,  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord :  looking  diligently  lest  any  man  fail  of  the  grace 
of  God;  lest  any  root  of  bitterness  springing  up 
trouble  you,  and  thereby  many  be  defiled."  (Heb.  12: 
14,  15.)  We  see  there  is  a  diligent  looking  unto  Jesus 
that  such  a  thing  may  not  occur,  and  if  it  does  spring 
up  in  our  hearts,  it  is  because  we  have  failed  of  the 
grace  of  God,  which  would  have  kept  us  from  any 
such  sorrow  and  misery.  No  matter  how  far  in  the 
past  such  a  thing  has  been,  it  must  be  confessed,  and 
put  under  the  blood,  and  confession  must  be  made,  if 
possible,  to  the  one  against  whom  there  has  been  any 
ill  feeling.  It  is  not  a  question  of  our  being  right 
or  wrong  about  the  matter  which  caused  the  trouble ; 
we  may  have  been  right  as  to  the  thing  which  came 
up  in  the  first  place,  but  any  lack  of  love  to  your  neigh- 


- 

j oi "  *'  * "  * ;         ' '  SkfcRriTs  OF  VICTORY 


bor  made  you  all  wrong  in  God's  sight.  Jesus  says 
that  we  are  His  friends  if  we  do  whatsoever  He  com- 
mands us,  and  He  commands  us  to  believe  in  Him, 
and  to  "love  one  another."  He  also  tells  us  that  if 
we  love  our  brother  there  is  no  occasion  of  stumbling 
in  us,  so  if  we  want  to  be  kept  entirely  from  stumbling 
in  our  Christian  walk,  to  the  glory  of  God,  we  must 
give  ourselves  up  to  the  Lord  to  be  His  love-channels 
continually,  and  the  very  sweetness  of  His  love  will 
be  life  to  ourselves,  and  life  to  those  with  whom  we 
come  in  contact.  Dear  reader,  if  you  will  honestly 
yield  your  whole  heart  to  the  Lord,  for  Him  to  search 
it  through  and  through,  He  will  do  it  so  tenderly  and 
faithfully,  and  will  show  you  if  there  is  lurking  in  its 
hidden  depths  any  root  of  bitterness,  which  is  keeping 
back  His  healing  life.  One  dear  sister,  with  whom 
I  was  dealing  said  to  me,  "I  have  nothing  against 
such  an  one."  I  replied,  "It  is  not  enough  that  you 
have  nothing  against  him;  but  according  to  God's 
Word  you  must  have  a  good  deal  FOR  him."  We 
must  have  an  active  love  in  our  hearts  for  all  of  God's 
children,  and  also  for  all  our  enemies.  "Love  is  the 
fulfilling  of  the  law."  We  owe  to  every  one  a  debt 
of  Divine  love,  and  as  we  yield  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
who  sheds  abroad  in  our  hearts  the  love  of  Christ, 
He  will  enable  us  to  pay  it.  It  will  not  have  to  be 
pumped  up,  but  will  flow  through  us '  in  rivers  of 
living  water. 

In  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Mark,  where  we  are 
told  of  the  wonderful  faith  which  will  move  mountains, 
we  also  read  these  words,  "And  when  ye  stand  pray- 
ing, forgive  if  ye  have  ought  against  any/'  Then 
these  words  are  added,  "But  if  ye  do  not  forgive, 
neither  will  your  Father  which  is  in  Heaven  forgive 
your  trespasses."  So  we  see  how  absolutely  neces- 
sary it  is  to  be  filled  with  forgiving  love  before  we 
can  pray  the  "prayer  of  faith/'  The  Word  also  says 
that,  "Faith  worketh  by  love,"  so  the  more  love  we 
have  the  more  faith  will  work.  A  jealous,  critical 
spirit  will  also  hinder  faith.  We  get  a  very  solemn 
lesson  on  this  subject  in  Numbers  12,  where  Miriam 


SOME  OF  THE  HINDRANCES  TO  HEALING      103 

and  Aaron  "spake  against  Moses."  At  first  sight 
it  would  not  seem  that  they  had  spoken  anything  that 
God  would  condemn,  but  God  had  put  great  honor 
upon  Moses,  and  had  spoken  with  him  face  to  face, 
and  He  gave  this  testimony  in  regard  to  him,  "Who 
is  faithful  in  all  My  house."  God's  faithful  servants 
are  unto  Him  as  "the  apple  of  His  eye."  He  says, 
"Touch  not  Mine  Anointed,  and  do  My  prophets  no 
harm."  When  the  Lord  called  Moses  and  Aaron  and 
Miriam  out  unto  the  Tabernacle  of  the  Congregation, 
we  read  that  "the  Lord  spake  suddenly."  It  is  very 
solemn  to  have  the  Lord  speak  suddenly  to  us  about 
anything  wherein  we  have  grieved  or  offended  Him, 
and  His  voice  is  a  very  loud  one  this  time,  for  when 
the  cloud  departed  from  off  the  Tabernacle,  "behold 
Miriam  was  leprous,  white  as  snow."  How  sweet 
the  immediate  intercession  of  Moses  for  his  sister, 
saying  "Heal  her  now,  O  God,  I  beseech  Thee."  So 
God  answered  his  prayer,  but  Miriam  was  shut  out 
of  the  Camp  for  seven  days,  because  of  the  unclean- 
ness  of  this  disease.  How  blessed  to  know  that  our 
great  High  Priest  is  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our 
infirmities,  and  that  "He  ever  liveth  to  make  inter- 
cession for  us."  If  we  are  filled  with  His  Divine  love, 
we  shall  be  free  from  all  criticism  of  others,  and  God 
will  not  have  to  speak  to  us  suddenly  because  we 
touch  some  of  His  faithful  little  ones. 

A  murmuring  spirit  is  often  a  cause  of  lack  of 
victory.  When  the  children  of  Israel  murmured  they 
grieved  and  angered  God.  We  are  commanded  to 
"offer  the  sacrifice  of  praise  to  God  continually,"  not 
merely  with  our  hearts  but  with  our  lips,  and  if  we 
obey  this  command  there  will  not  be  much  room  left, 
for  a  murmuring  or  unthankful  spirit.  God  told  His 
ancient  people  that  because  they  did  not  serve  Him 
with  joy  fulness  and  gladness  of  heart  for  the  abun- 
dance of  all  things,  they  would  be  compelled  therefore 
to  serve  their  enemies  in  hunger  and  thirst,  and 
nakedness  and  want  of  all  things.  (See  Deut.  28:47, 
48.)  Among  the  terrible  sins  spoken  of  in  the  first 
chapter  of  Romans  we  read  these  words,  "NEITHER, 


104  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

WERE  THANKFUL."  (verse  21).  In  fact  it  would 
seem  that  many  of  these  awful  sins  followed  because 
they  were  not  thankful.  May  the  Lord  enable  us  to 
give  Him  "thanks  always,  for  all  things/'  even  as  He 
has  commanded. 

There  are  other  things  which  we  might  mention, 
but  we  will  close  with  one  other  suggestion,  and 
that  is,  that  many  of  God's  children,  who  do  not  have 
to  plead  guilty  to  any  of  the  things  already  mentioned, 
seem  to  lack  zeal  for  the  Lord,  in  pressing  through 
to  claim  their  inheritance  along  the  line  of  healing. 
"The  kingdom  of  Heaven  Suffereth  violence,  and  the 
violent  take  it  by  force/'  This  is  pleasing  to  the  Lord, 
who  wants  us  to  press  through  all  opposing  forces 
of  the  enemy,  and  to  receive  from  the  Lord  all  that 
He  has  bought  for  us  by  His  precious  blood.  Far 
above  the  mere  fact  of  being  healed  for  our  own  com- 
fort, or  for  the  sake  of  our  friends,  we  must  want 
healing  for  the  Lord's  glory.  If  any  one  is  in  doubt 
about  the  Lord's  will  in  this  matter  of  healing,  this 
should  be  settled  first,  for  one  cannot  pray  "the  prayer 
of  faith,"  which  the  Lord  says  shall  "save  the  sick" 
(Jas.  5:16,  17)  while  in  doubt  about  the  will  of  God. 
Do  not  take  human  counsel,  but  study  your  Bible, 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  for  your  Teacher,  with  the  one 
desire  to  have  God's  will  made  dear  to -you,  and  He 
will  reveal  Jesus  to  you  as  the  great  Healer,  as  truly 
as  He  revealed  Himself  as  the  Healer  of  His  people 
by  the  sweetened  waters  of  Marah.  When  once  you 
have  this  revelation  through  God's  own  Word,  you 
will  have  an  abiding  faith  for  the  body,  which  will 
be  sweet  and  precious  to  you  beyond  any  words  to 
describe.  We  see  that  Jesus  was  pleased  with  the 
Syrophenician  woman  who  would  not  be  denied,  even 
when  He  answered  her  not  a  word,  and  afterwards 
when  He  seemed  unwilling  to  grant  her  petition.  When 
talking  to  her  He  called  healing,  the  ''children's  bread" 
and  praise  God,  this  is  what  it  is;  so  He  wants  all 
His  children  to  have  it.  He  was  also  pleased  with 
the  woman  who  had  the  issue  of  blood,  and  who 
pressed  her  way  through  all  the  crowd  to  touch  the 


SOME  OF  THE  HINDRANCES  TO  HEALING      105 

hem  of  His  garment.  And  yet  again  He  was  pleased 
with  the  bearing  of  the  paralyzed  man  to  the  house- 
top, and  breaking  up  the  roof,  and  letting  him  down 
through  the  roof.  And  He  healed  the  blind  man 
who  cried  yet  more  and  more  when  those  around 
tried  to  stop  him.  True  faith  is  very  bold,  and  says, 
"I  will  not  let  Thee  go  except  Thou  bless  me."  This 
faith  comes  through  the  light  of  the  Spirit  upon  the 
Word  of  God,  when  we  are  walking  obediently  before 
Him.  He  wants  us  to  prove  more  and  more  the 
riches  of  His  grace  on  all  lines,  for  all  the  promises  are 
unto  us  Yea  and  Amen  in  Christ  Jesus,  "unto  the 
glory  of  God  by  us." 


I06  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
Members  of  Christ's  Body. 

There  is  one  little  thought  on  my  heart  this  morn- 
ing which  is  brought  out  very  clearly  in  the  Word  of 
God,  in  regard  to  the  relationship  between  the  dif- 
ferent members  of  the  Body  of  Christ.  We  read  in 
the  eighteenth  verse  of  the  twelfth  chapter  of  First 
Corinthians,  "Now  hath  God  set  the  members  every 
one  of  them  in  the  body  as  it  hath  pleased  Him;" 
also  in  the  thirteenth  and  fifteenth  verses,  "For  by 
one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body,  whether 
we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles,  whether  we  be  bond  or  free ; 
and  have  been  all  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit."  "If 
the  foot  shall  say,  because  I  am  not  the  hand,  I  am 
not  of  the  body;  is  it  therefore  not  of  the  body?" 
Notice  that  God  hath  Himself  "set*  the  members; 
we  cannot  place  ourselves,  but  God  hath  set  the 
members  every  one  of  them  in  the  body  ffas  it  hath 
pleased  Him."  "And  the  eye  cannot  say  unto  the 
hand,  I  have  no  need  of  thee:  nor  again  the  head  to 
the  feet,  I  have  no  need  of  you.  Nay,  much  more 
those  members  of  the  body,  which  seem  to  be  feeble, 
are  necessary:  (literal,  "indispensable,")  and  those 
members  of  the  body,  which  we  think  to  be  less 
honorable,  upon  these  we  bestow  more  abundant  honor, 
and  our  uncomely  parts  have  more  abundant  comeli- 
ness. For  our  comely  parts  have  no  need:  but  God 
hath  tempered  the  body  together  having  given  more 
abundant  honor  to  that  part  which  lacked :  that  there 
should  be  no  schism  in  the  body;  but  that  the  members 
should  have  the  same  care  one  for  another.  And 
whether  one  member  suffer  all  the  members  suffer 
with  it;  or  one  member  be  honored,  all  the  members 
rejoice  with  it.  Now  ye  are  the  body  of  Christ,  and 
members  in  particular."  (Verses  21-27).  This  thought 
came  to  me  especially  because  of  what  occurred  at  our 


MEMBERS  OF  CHRIST'S  BODY  107 

own  home.  We  were  speaking  of  a  certain  public 
ministry  of  one  member,  and  also  of  the  work  of 
Personal  ministry.  So  much  of  the  time  the  work 
of  my  dear  husband  has  been  a  personal  ministry, 
which  God  has  greatly  used.  We  said  that  the  enemy 
would  like  to  hinder  him  from  doing  this  by  making 
him  feel  his  helplessness,  because  he  was  not  used 
just  in  the  same  way  that  another  member  was  used. 
As  we  talked  together  we  realized  anew  that  we  are  all 
members  of  the  body,  and  one  ministry  was  as  neces- 
sary as  the  other.  Taking  my  own  body  as  an  illus- 
tration, it  is  absolutely  impossible  for  my  feet  to  do 
the  work  of  my  hands,  or  for  my  hands  to  do  the 
work  of  my  feet.  When  the  feet  are  gone  the  whole 
body  is  crippled ;  the  person  manages  to  stand  on  the 
stumps  of  his  legs  but  it  is  a  crippled  body.  The  legs 
and  the  arms  say,  "We  will  do  the  best  we  can  for 
you  have  no  feet."  When  the  hands  are  gone  some 
people  have  learned  to  use  their  *  feet  or  toes  so 
skillfully  that  they  could  even  write  and  do  many 
things  that  required  a  great  deal  of  skill,  but  how 
very  clumsy  it  is  for  the  feet  to  do  the  work  of  the 
hands.  If  the  right  hand  is  gone  the  left  hand  tries 
to  do  its  work,  but  it  is  very  difficult.  When  any  of 
these  conditions  exist  we  say  that  it  is  a  crippled  body. 
Now  the  body  of  Christ  must  not  be  crippled.  We 
have  read  here  that  the  body  has  many  members. 
The  Lord's  body  is  made  up  of  all  of  us.  "Now  ye 
are  the  body  of  Christ."  As  we  come  around  the 
Lord's  table  we  must  remember  that  we  not  only  have 
to  discern  the  mystical  body  of  Christ  through  the 
bread  and  wine,  but  also  we  must  discern  every  mem- 
ber of  Christ's  body  in  His  little  ones.  So  the  Spirit, 
in  these  days  when  He  is  perfecting  Christ's  bride, 
is  very  particular  with  us.  We  cannot  have  a  critical 
or  prejudiced  feeling  toward  one  of  God's  little  ones. 
We  must  have  the  heart  of  Christ,  which  is  a  heart 
full  of  love  to  all  of  them.  If  my  finger  has  a  sore 
on  it,  I  do  not  say  I  have  no  use  for  it  and  that  it 
might  as  well  be  cut  off.  Oh,  no;  I  help  it  with  the 
other  fingers  and  take  better  care  of  it  than  I  do  of 


io8  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

t  j 

the  others.  So  when  we  see  those  who  are  not  right, 
and  who  seem  to  have  a  sore  place  on  them,  we  must 
know  that  they  and  we  are  still  members  of  each  other, 
and  as  we  love  them,  marvellous  intercession  will  come 
to  us  for  them.  I  say,  "Father,  I  need  that  member; 
that  one  who  does  not  understand  me,  that  one  who 
has  blamed  me,  that  one  who  has  prejudice  toward 
me,  and  who  has  even  been  unkind;  that  one  is  a 
member  of  Thy  body ;  Thou  dost  need  that  one,  Lord 
Jesus,  and  I  need  him  and  he  needs  me."  Because  of 
that  wonderful  relationship  in  Christ  we  must  be  joined 
together.  Sometimes  when  there  is  a  hard  or  difficult 
situation  with  some  one  I  say,  "Lord  Jesus,  I  am  going 
to  take  a  short-cut  in  this  matter;  /  take  Thy  heart 
toward  that  one,  and  just  as  Thou  dost  feel  toward 
him  is  the  way  I  am  going  to  feel.  I  do  not  know 
just  how  Thou  dost  feel,  but  as  I  take  Thy  heart 
toward  him,  I  shall  know,  for  Thy  love  and  sympathy 
will  flow  through  me."  Beloved,  will  you  say  today, 
"Lord,  I  am  going  to  feel  just  as  Thou  dost  feel 
toward  those  who  do  not  understand  me,  or  do  not 
think  as  I  think?  I  need  them  although  I  am  the 
feet  and  they  are  the  hands ;  I  have  great  need  of 
them."  And  the  Lord  will  often  begin  to  make  loving 
excuses  for  them.  Then  trust  the  Lord  to  put  His 
own  prayer  in  your  heart  for  them,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  will  work  Jesus'  own  prayer  within  you,  and 
they  will  be  blessed  and  set  free,  and  you  will  be  doubly 
blessed  in  this  intercession. 

I  said  to  my  dear  husband,  "Let  us  offer  ourselves 
more  fully  to  God  for  His  service,  and  let  God  set 
us  in  the  body  just  where  we  ought  to  be,  that  we  may 
in  no  way  cripple  His  body."  We  could  not  imagine 
such  a  monstrosity  as  the  nose  being  where  the  ear 
ought  to  be,  or  the  foot  where  the  hand  should  be: 
we  could  not  imagine  such  a  thing  in  Christ's  body. 
Let  each  one  ask  the  Lord,  "What  wilt  Thou  have  me 
to  do?"  You  will  be  shown  your  own  place  in  the 
body  of  Christ.  Wait  on  God  until  He  shows  you 
your  place.  But  suppose  you  hear,  and  do  not  take 
the  place  He  has  set  you  in?  Then  there  is  a  partial 


MEMBERS  OF  CHRIST'S  BODY  109 

paralysis  in  the  body.  God  hath  set  the  members  in 
the  body  as  it  hath  pleased  Him,  and  all  you  have  to 
do  is  to  ask,  "Lord,  where  hast  Thou  set  me?"  And 
wherever  that  place  is,  to  obey  and  do  the  work  of 
that  member.  Is  it  not  lovely  that  He  has  set  us  in 
the  body,  and  we  do  not  have  to  try  different  places, 
Jbut  we  know  where  we  belong?  And  when  you  get 
into  your  own  place  it  pleases  Him.  You  cannot  go 
merely  according  to  your  own  ideas  or  liking;  if  you 
do  you  will  get  into  someone  else's  place  and  you  will 
hinder  that  one  and  also  yourself,  and  in  fact  the 
whole  body.  Be  perfectly  yielded  and  obedient  and 
God  will  show  you  your  place  and  work,  and  will  con- 
5tantly  give  you  His  own  life  and  energy  by  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


no  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
Diligent  Hearkening. 

The  Lord  has  put  on  my  heart  this  morning  a  little 
message  on  Hearkening,  in  connection  with  spiritual 
blessing,  and  physical  healing.  Let  us  first  turn  to 
Matt  13:15,  "For  this  people's  heart  is  waxed  gross, 
and  their  ears  are  dull  of  hearing."  The  Lord  Jesus 
had  been  giving  out  marvelous  truths  in  parables,  and 
He  had  said,  in  verse  9,  ''Who  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him 
hear."  The  disciples  came  and  asked  Jesus,  "Why 
speakest  Thou  unto  them  in  parables  ?"  And  He  went 
on  to  tell  them,  "It  is  given  unto  you  (that  is,  the  dis- 
ciples) to  know  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven,  but  to  them  it  is  not  given/'  Now  that  would 
seem  strange  and  arbitrary  if  we  did  not  know  the 
character  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  did  not  know  that 
"again  it  is  written/'  We  must  get  the  sense  of  the 
whole  passage.  Jesus  goes  on  to  tell  them  that  the 
ears  of  these  people  were  dull  of  hearing,  and  their 
eyes  they  had  closed,  "Lest  at  any  time  they  should 
see  with  their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,  and 
should  understand  with  their  heart,  and  should 
be  converted,  and  I  should  heal  them."  Then 
He  said,  "But  blessed  are  your  eyes,  for  they 
see:  and  your  ears,  for  they  hear."  (vs.  15, 
16).  Now  by  taking  the  whole  passage  you  notice 
that  the  people  had  voluntarily  shut  their  eyes,  and 
it  was  because  their  hearts  had  waxed  gross  that 
their  ears  were  dull  of  hearing.  When  we  give  out 
these  precious  truths  we  find  some  people  who  are  dull 
of  hearing.  They  have  no  spiritual  understanding, 
because  their  hearts  are  not  right  with  God.  They 
would  like  temporal  benefits;  they  would  like  to  be 
healed  that  they  might  continue  in  their  way  of  the 
world's  pleasure,  but  they  do  not  want  God ;  their 
hearts  are  "waxed  gross.''  Therefore,  such  people, 


DILIGENT  HEARKENING  1 1 1 

when  they  come  for  healing,  are  in  need  of  spiritual 
life  more  than  anything  else,  and  it  is  first  necessary 
to  lead  them  into  a  place  where  they  are  willing  to  give 
themselves  to  God,  and  go  all  the  way  with  Him. 

Now  the  disciples  could  understand,  and  He  could 
explain  to  them  the  parable.  He  said,  "Blessed  are 
your  eyes  for  they  see:  and  your  ears  for  they  hear." 
We  often  read  that  Scripture,  "Who  hath  ears  to  hear, 
let  him  hear."  I  remember  the  time  when  the  Lord 
opened  my  spiritual  eyes  and  my  spiritual  ears  and 
gave  me  an  understanding  heart,  by  the  power  of  His 
Spirit,  to  understand  the  Word  of  God.  If  God  could 
take  away  the  grossness  of  my  heart,  and  enable  me 
to  get  to  the  place  of  spiritual  understanding  and 
hearing,  then  it  was  my  responsibility  what  I  heard, 
and  this  was  very  solemn  to  me.  It  is  also  very  solemn 
to  see  those  who  have  closed  their  eyes  and  refused  to 
hearken;  they  pull  away  the  shoulder  like  a  stub- 
born child;  they  will  not  hear;  they  will  not  give 
attention.  That  is  just  the  picture  that  the  Lord  uses 
when  the  people  will  not  listen  to  Him,  and  God  says 
that  such  an  heart  is  like  "an  adamant  stone."  (Zech. 
7:12).  We  see  those  who  have  never  had  their  eyes 
opened;  but  those  seem  the  hardest  of  all  to  reach 
who  have  had  their  eyes  and  ears  opened  and  have 
drawn  away  from  that  which  they  once  knew,  and 
now  voluntarily  they  close  their  eyes  and  ears  to  the 
message  of  God.  I  have  seen  the  grace  of  God  reach 
some  of  them,  but  they  are  very  hard  to  reach.  I 
repeat  that  the  responsibility  is  very  great  to  those 
who  have  had  their  ears  opened.  If  some  of  you  call 
to  me  from  another  room  and  need  help,  and  I  hear 
your  call,  I  am  responsible  to  go  to  you ;  but  if  I  were 
deaf  and  could  not  hear  I  would  not  be  responsible  in 
the  same  way.  God  opened  my  spiritual  ears  in  a 
marked  way  when  He  healed  me  many  years  ago.  He 
had  dealt  with  me  in  a  wonderful  way  before  I  was 
sick,  and  if  I  had  known  how  to  yield  fully  to  Him,  I 
would  not  have  had  to  go  through  that  long  illness. 
But  God  saw  that  I  wanted  Him,  and  wanted  Him 
in  spite  of  everything,  and  when  people  want  Him  in 


H2  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

that  way  He  will  bring  them  to  Himself.  It  may  be 
through  the  path  of  suffering,  but  He  will  bring  them. 
All  at  once  I  could  hear  God  in  a  new  way.  I  had 
heard  Him  before  in  one  sense,  but  this  seemed  like 
a  new  inner  faculty  of  hearing. .  If  you  have  not  heard 
in  this  way,  beloved,  you  ask  God  to  open  your  ears, 
for  you  have  the  Scripture  for  it;  "Then  opened  He 
their  understanding,  that  they  might  understand  the 
Scriptures."  (Luke  24:45).  Now  if  I  had  not  listened 
to  the  Word  after  my  ears  were  opened,  then  there 
would  be  a  solemn  responsibility  resting  upon  me.  For 
the  most  part  in  these  more  than  thirty  years  God  has 
kept  me  hearkening ;  not  always  as  closely  as  I  should, 
but  if  I  ever  failed  to  hearken  diligently,  something 
always  happened  to  me.  I  would  have  some  affliction 
or  trial,  and  then  God  would  give  me  grace  to  go  down 
under  His  hand,  and  He  would  show  me  that  I  had 
not  been  hearkening  diligently.  It  requires  diligent 
hearkening  to  hear  the  voice  of  His  Word,  His  own 
voice  through  the  Word  of  God.  I  believe  that  He 
is  saying  to  some  people  today  as  He  said  to  His  dis- 
ciples of  old,  "What,  could  ye  not  watch  with  Me  one 
hour?"  I  find  many  dear  people  who  give  the  Lord 
five  minutes,  and  many  upward  glances  a  day,  but  to 
them  I  believe  the  Lord  is  saying,  "Could  ye  not  watch 
with  Me  one  hour?"  I  believe  we  should  give  Him 
the  first  hour  of  the  day  when  possible,  and  I  can  tell 
you  from  my  own  experience  that  you  will  not  get 
tired  by  getting  up  an  hour  earlier  to  meet  the  Lord. 
But  if  you  cannot  take  that  hour,  take  half  an  hour 
in  the  evening;  then  if  you  feel  you  cannot  take  that 
I  will  tell  you  a  secret :  you  ask  the  Lord  to  plan  for 
you,  so  that  you  can  get  time  to  watch  with  Him. 
Take  at  least  one  hour  for  the  reading  of  the  Word 
and  for  prayer  and  communion;  give  as  much  more 
time  as  you  are  able,  but  be  sure  to  give  the  hour. 
If  you  do  not  hear  His  voice,  ask  Him  to  open  your 
spiritual  ears  that  you  may  know  how  to  hearken  to 
Him,  and  if  you  have  your  ears  open  you  will  not  fail 
to  hear  Him.  You  cannot  hear  Him  if  you  are  careless, 
but  if  you  give  Him  time  and  wait  before  Him  you 


DILIGENT  HEARKENING  113 

will  hear  His  voice.  You  say,  "I  do  read  the  Word/' 
Yes,  but  how  do  you  read  it  ?  Oh,  you  must  ask  God 
to  open  your  ears  and  your  understanding  to  hear 
the  voice  of  God  through  the  Word. 

I  want  you  also  to  notice  (a  little  further  on  in  this 
thirteenth  chapter  of  Matthew)  that  He  asked  them 
if  they  understood  all  these  things,  and  they  said  unto 
Him,  "Yea,  Lord."  That  is  so  sweet;  He  always 
wants  to  be  sure  that  we  understand.  "Then  said  He 
unto  them,  Therefore  every  scribe  which  is  instructed 
unto  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  man  that  is 
an  householder,  which  bringeth  forth  out  of  his 
treasure  things  new  and  old."  What  are  you  going 
to  do  with  it  when  you  get  this  understanding  and 
spiritual  instruction?  If  you  do  not  give  it  out  to 
others,  you  will  lose  it.  That  is  the  trouble  with  God's 
children  today;  they  ask  to  be  reservoirs  instead  of 
channels.  Note  that  it  is  every  scribe-that  is  instructed 
unto  the  kingdom  of  heaven  who  is  like  unto  a  man 
that  is  an  householder.  Now  a  man  that  is  a  house- 
holder will  supply  his  household  out  of  his  treasure; 
he  brings  forth  whatever  is  needed  whether  it  be  gold 
or  silver  or  perhaps  provisions  or  clothing  that  has 
been  laid  up.  The  weak  members  of  the  family  must 
be  cared  for.  Some  of  the  household  are  babies  and 
cannot  make  their  own  clothes  yet;  they  cannot  do 
their  own  cooking  but  they  are  a  part  of  the  household. 
It  is  the  instructed  ones  who  are  to  minister  to  the 
others,  and  if  they  do  not  they  will  soon  lose  what 
they  have  gotten. 

Now  turn  to  Psalm  81.  In  the  eighth  verse  God 
calls  on  His  people  to  hear,  "Hear,  O  My  people,  and  I 
will  testify  unto  thee."  He  will  testify  if  we  will 
listen.  "O  Israel,  if  thou  wilt  hearken  unto  Me; 
there  shall  no  strange  god  be  in  thee;  neither  shalt 
thou  worship  any  strange  god/'  What  deliverance 
from  spiritual  idolatry  by  hearkening  unto  His 
voice !  "Open  thy  mouth  wide  and  I  will  fill  it."  We 
can  take  that  in  many  ways.  There  will  be  plenty  for 
you  to  eat  of  spiritual  meat,  if  you  open  your  mouth 
wide  and  take  it.  He  gave  me  this  text  many  years  ago 


ii4  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

after  He  had  healed  me  and  I  knew  that  He  wanted 
me  to  work  for  Him.  The  first  thing  I  did  besides 
receiving  many  callers  at  my  home  was  to  go  to  a 
W.  C.  T.  U.  Mission  to  work  with  Miss  Anna  W. 
Prosser.  I  had  always  heard  our  Episcopalian  min- 
ister read  his  sermons  and  it  was  the  same  with  Miss 
Prosser  (who  was  Presbyterian)  and  we  asked  God  to 
help  us  write  our  sermons,  and  He  did  bless,  because 
at  that  time  we  did  not  know  any  different  way.  She 
was  older  than  I  and  God  showed  her  the  light  first 
about  this  (after  a  few  weeks).  She  said  to  me  one 
day,  "The  Lord  is  showing  me  that  I  should  not  depend 
on  writing  a  sermon  but  upon  Him  to  give  it  at  the 
moment."  That  was  a  shock  to  me,  for  I  did  not  know 
of  any  such  way,  and  it  was  almost  too  much  of  a 
venture  of  faith  on  my  part,  and  I  said,  "If  we  ask 
God  to  help  us  write  them  and  to  bless  them  I  think  that 
is  all  right."  She  said,  "Well,  He  is  leading  me  to 
trust  Him  at  the  moment/'  A  few  weeks  later  I  felt 
that  God  wanted  me  also  to  make  this  venture  of 
faith,  and  this  was  the  verse  He  gave  me,  "Open  thy 
mouth  wide,  and  I  will  fill  it."  So  I  said,  "Lord,  I 
will  open  my  mouth  and  it  is  Thy  responsibility  to  fill 
it."  There  were  all  sorts  of  people  in  that  mission,  and 
I  stood  up  and  opened  my  mouth  and  the  Lord  did  fill 
it,  and  He  has  filled  it  ever  since,  as  I  have  continued 
trusting.  We  can  take  this  verse  in  many  ways,  but 
that  is  the  way  in  which  the  Lord  gave  it  to  me  then. 
God  says,  "But  My  people  will  not  hearken  to  My 
voice ;"  He  says,  "My  people,"  not  some  other  people, 
but  MY  PEOPLE.  "And  I  gave  them  up  unto  their 
heart's  lust:  and  they  walked  in  their  own  counsel." 
You  refuse  to  listen  to  God,  and  the  enemy  will  take 
your  brain  and  put  high  imaginations  into  it,  because 
you  have  not  filled  it  with  God's  Word,  and  God  will 
leave  you  to  your  own  heart's  lust,  or  desire,  until 
you  get  tired  of  it  all  and  turn  in  repentance  to  Him. 
He  said  about  Ephraim,  that  in  his  affliction  he  would 
seek  the  Lord  early.  God  had  to  go  away  and  leave 
him  alone  until  he  acknowledged  his  offence  (Hosea 
5:15).  Do  you  wonder  some  times  why  people  are  so 


DILIGENT  HEARKENING  115 

full  of  imaginations  and  errors  of  doctrine?  It  is 
because  they  have  gotten  careless  about  the  whole 
Word  of  God,  and  have  not  hearkened  diligently  to  His 
voice.  Then  He  says,  in  what  seems  like  a  wail  over 
Israel,  "O  that  My  people  had  hearkened  unto  Me, 
and  Israel  had  walked  in  My  ways !"  What  else 
wouldst  Thou  have  done,  Lord?  "The  haters  of  the 
Lord  should  have  submitted  themselves  unto  Him." 
\Vhat  else,  Lord?  "He  should  have  fed  them  also 
with  the  finest  of  the  wheat :  and  with  honey  out  of  the 
rock  should  I  have  satisfied  thee."  Will  the  Lord 
do  that  now  if  we  hearken  to  His  Word?  Yes,  I  am 
sure  He  will,  and  even  for  the  wandering  ones  if  they 
return  to  Him,  for  we  read  that  He  is  married  to  the 
backslider  (Jer.  3:14).  He  calls  us  back  to  Him,  and 
if  we  listen/He  will  take  us  in  His  "everlasting  arms." 
What  will  those  everlasting  arms  do?  They  will 
"thrust  out  the  enemy"  from  before -us  (Deut  33:27). 
And  He  will  feed  us  with  the  finest  of  the  wheat,  even 
Jesus,  the  bruised  bread-corn.  And  if  you  want  to  be 
bread-^corn  for  people  you  will  have  to  be  bruised,  too, 
as  Jesus  was.  Are  you  willing  for  this?  He  will  sat- 
isfy your  own  soul.  He  has  satisfied  me,  and  yet  it  is 
so  sweet  that  I  want  to  be  enlarged  to  take  in  more 
and  more  of  Himself. 

"And  deep  we  drink  with  sweet  eternal  thirst; 
With  lips  forever  thirsting  as  at  first, 
Yet  ever  satisfied." 

Now  we  will  take  Hearkening  in  relation  to  heal- 
ing. You  will  find  this  in  Exodus  15  126.  This  is  the 
Lord's  Covenant  with  His  people  about  healing  for  the 
body.  Beginning  at  the  22d  verse,  we  read  that  He 
had  just  brought  them  out  of  Egypt,  and  they  had 
been  singing  wonderful  songs  of  rejoicing.  They  had 
sung  unto  the  Lord,  for  He  had  triumphed  gloriously, 
and  I  suppose  that  they  thought  their  troubles  were  all 
over,  as  we  do  when  we  are  first  saved ;  now  a  new 
set  of  troubles  begin.  But  we  have  One  with  us  al- 
ways who  is  able  to  put  our  enemies  to  flight.  They 


n6  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

*« 

went  three  days  in  the  wilderness  and  found  no  water. 
How  the  Lord  was  proving  them !  I  tell  you  He  will 
always  prove  His  people.  Finally  they  came  to  water, 
but  it  was  bitter.  By  that  time  they  were  not  singing 
any  more;  they  were  murmuring.  If  we  could  only 
trust  Him  to  ALWAYS  keep^  the  song  in  our  hearts, 
and  to  keep  us  from  murmuring,  how  sweet  it  would 
be !  I  praise  God  that  He  keeps  His  song  in  my  heart, 
even  in  the  hard  trials.  We  read  that  "they  murmured 
against  Moses."  Some  people  are  afraid  to  murmur 
against  God,  so  they  murmur  against  God's  children, 
but  that  is  the  worst  kind  of  murmuring.  If  you  want 
to  complain,  take  it  right  to  the  Lord  as  Job  did ;  do 
not  complain  of  the  instruments  He  uses.  He  does  not 
want  us  to  murmur  about  each  other ;  if  people  are  in 
fault  we  must  go  in  the  spirit  of  love  and  tell  them 
about  it,  and  if  we  go  in  true  love  they  will  usually  be 
grateful  to  us,  but  it  needs  the  tenderness  of  Divine 
love  to  take  the  mote  out  of  a  brother's  eye.  When 
can  we  "see  clearly"  to  take  it  out  ?  When  we  have  the 
beam  of  self-love  out  of  our  own  eye.  They  murmured 
against  Moses,  and  he  cried  unto  the  Lord.  Now, 
dear  ones,  that  is  the  other  side  of  the  picture ;  when 
people  murmur  against  you,  do  as  Moses  did  and  cry 
unto  the  Lord ;  do  not  talk  back.  When  Moses  cried, 
the  Lord  showed  him  a  tree :  here  is  Divine  revelation. 
The  truth  of  God  is  revealed  to  us ;  not  found  out  by 
mental  research.  "Who  by  searching  can  find  out 
God?"  We  do  not  know  what  kind  of  tree  this  was, 
but  it  was  a  type  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  God 
told  Moses  to  cast  it  into  the  bitter  waters,  and  the 
waters  would  be  made  sweet.  One  of  the  names  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  is  the  Branch.  If  we  take  that  Branch 
into  every  bitter  spring  in  our  lives,  it  will  make  all 
the  bitter  waters  sweet. 

There,  right  by  the  sweetened  waters,  God  made 
for  them  a  statute  and  there  He  proved  them  and  said, 
"If  thou  wilt  diligently  hearken  to  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  thy  God,  and  wilt  do  that  which  is  right  in  His 
sight,  and  wilt  give  ear  to  His  commandments,  and 
keep  all  His  statutes,  I  will  put  none  of  these  diseases 


DILIGENT  HEARKENING  117 

upon  thee,  which  I  have  brought  upon  the  Egyptians : 
for  /  am  the  Lord  that  healeth  thee!'  The  word 
^healeth"  denotes  present  tense  and  it  is  continued 
healing.  Salvation  comes  through  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus.  There  is  life  for  a  look.  How  do  we  hearken  ? 
By  looking  unto  Jesus  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our 
faith ;  He  is  our  righteousness.  How  do  we  hearken  ? 
"As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the 
sons  of  God/'  By  walking  in  Him,  just  as  we  re- 
ceived Him.  "As  ye  have  received  Christ  Jesus  the 
Lord,  so  walk  ye  in  Him."  It  is  just  a  walk  with  God. 
Enoch  walked  with  God,  and  he  was  not,  for  God  took 
him.  Do  you  want  to  be  ready  for  translation  ?  Walk 
with  God.  It  is  not  being  driven  or  pushed,  but  led 
gently  and  surely,  with  your  hand  in  His  all  the  time ; 
never  knowing  anything  of  yourself.  If  you  think  you 
know  anything  of  yourself,  beware,  for  you  will  be  apt 
to  have  a  fall,  in  order  that  He  may  show  you  that  you 
know  nothing  except  as  He  teaches  you. 

If  my  body  is  touched  in  any  way,  ancj  I  do  not 
get  healing  quickly,  I  go  down  under  the  hand  of  God 
and  ask  Him  to  search  me,  and  I  lie  in  the  search- 
light of  God  until  He  reveals  the  hindrance.  We  need 
not  remain  in  darkness  about  anything.  He  has  trans- 
lated us  out  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness  into  the  king- 
dom of  His  dear  Son.  We  will  not  get  into  darkness 
if  our  eye  is  single.  "If  therefore  thine  eye  be  single; 
thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  light."  What  is  the 
"light"  of  our  body  ?  It  is  the  Christ-life ;  "the  life  was 
the  light  of  men."  It  is  the  life  of  Jesus  filling  the 
body ;  the  Holy  Spirit  in  us  quickens  our  mortal  body 
(Rom.  8:11).  What  is  the  condition?  If  thine  eye 
be  single.  What  does  that  mean?  It  means  having 
just  one  aim,  and  that  is  the  glory  of  God.  You  need 
not  be  sick;  He  is  longing  to  make  you  well,  but  you 
must  want  His  glory  most  of  all.  When  my  dear  hus- 
band was  dying  of  pneumonia  the  Spirit  cried  out 
through  me,  "For  the  glory  of  God :  for  the  glory  of 
God/'  And  his  testimony  has  been  marvelously  used 


n8  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

to  encourage  the  faith  of  others,  as  it  was  published 
and  sent  forth  for  His  glory. 

What  is  the  summing  up  of  the  whole  matter  ?  It 
is  that  Christ  may  so  rule  in  our  hearts  that  we  may 
be  filled  with  His  love,  for  you  cannot  have  your 
whole  being  full  of  light  unless  it  is  full  of  Divine  love. 
"Love  never  faileth."  It  does  not  make  any  difference 
what  anyone  does  to  you ;  Christ's  divine  love  in  you 
is  sufficient.  Say  to  Him,  "Lord,  I  take  your  heart 
for  that  one  who  has  hurt  me,  and  I  am  going  to  feel 
just  as  you  feel  toward  him."  You  will  notice  how 
quickly  the  Lord  will  begin  to  make  excuses  for  that 
one  and  to  intercede  for  him. 

We  cannot  live  an  overcoming  life  without  being 
filled  with  this  love,  and  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  who  sheds 
abroad  this  love  in  our  hearts ;  so  let  Him  take  full 
possession  of  you,  and  work  in  you  the  continual 
hearkening  and  obedience  of  the  holy  Son  of  God. 


CAST  NOT  AWAY  YOUR  CONFIDENCE         119 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
Cast  Not  Away  Your  Confidence. 

Look  first  at  Heb.  10:35,  which  reads,  "Cast  not 
away  therefore  your  confidence,  which  hath  great  rec- 
ompense of  reward."  Verses  32-34  tell  us  of  the  "great 
fight  of  afflictions"  endured  by  these  Christians,  and 
how  they  took  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  their  goods, 
knowing  that  they  had  "in  Heaven  a  better  and  an 
enduring  substance/'  We  will  read  on  from  verse 
26,  "For  ye  have  need  of  patience,  that,  after  ye  have 
done  the  will  of  God,  ye  might  receive  the  promise. 
•For  yet  a  little  while,  and  He  that  shall  come  will 
come,  and  will  not  tarry.  Now  the  just  shall  live  by 
faith:  but  if  any  man  draw  back,  My  soul  shall  have 
no  pleasure  in  him.  But  we  are  not  of  them  that 
draw  back  unto  perdition;  but  of  them  that  believe 
to  the  saving  of  the  soul." 

"CAST  NOT  AWAY  THEREFORE  YOUR 
CONFIDENCE."  We  are  told  in  Heb.  12:2  that 
Jesus  is  "the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith." 
Perhaps  we  all  realize,  in  a  measure  at  least,  that 
Jesus  is  the  Author,  that  is  the  Beginner  of  our  faith. 
We  have  all  had  experiences,  when,  after  a  long  strug- 

fle  to  get  near  to  God,  we  felt  that  we  had  hopelessly 
died;  then  a  little  gleam  of  light  would  come,  and 
we  began  to  see  that  when  we  were  willing  to  cease 
struggling,  the  Lord  would  begin  in  us  a  Heavenly 
faith.  This  faith  was  not  earth-born,  but  a  faith  that 
was  given  to  us  when  we  became  like  a  weaned  child. 
David  used  that  illustration,  and  said,  "My  soul  is  as 
a  weaned  child."  Then  it  is  that  the  Heavenly  light 
and  faith  begin  to  dawn  on  our  soul.  You  say,  "This 
is  wonderful;  Jesus  has  begun  a  new  faith  in  me." 
But  perhaps  there  is  another  struggle  now;  the  Devil 
tries  to  get  you  to  finish  the  work  that  God  has  begun. 
You  forget  that  Jesus  is  the  Finisher  as  well  as  the 


I2O  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

Author  of  your  faith,  and  so  you  try  to  add  your 
works  to  His.  A  lady  who  was  visiting  this  Home  at 
one  time  had  a  wonderful  glimpse  of  what  true  faith 
is ;  she  received  a  glory-gleam  from  Heaven,  and  her 
soul  was  filled  with  joy.  But  the  next  morning  when 
she  came  down  stairs  we  saw  that  her  face  was  sad 
and  worn.  We  asked  her  what  kind  of  a  night  she 
had  had,  and  she  replied,  "You  know  what  a  blessing 
I  received  yesterday.  Well,  I  thought  I  would  hold 
on  to  it  carefully  for  fear  I  should  lose  it,  and  I  lay 
awake  nearly  all  night  trying  to  hold  on  to  it."  We 
answered,  "Did  you  succeed?"  She  sadly  replied, 
"No,  it  is  all  gone!" 

Jesus  has  not  begun  our  faith  to  have  it  end  in 
failure.  With  all  our  ups  and  downs,  and  our  failures 
to  understand  His  way,  that  which  He  has  begun  in 
us  He  will  finish,  as  we  continue  to  yield  ourselves  to 
Him.  This  spark  of  Heaven-born  faith  is  unspeakably 
precious,  and  He  will  care  for  it.  And  yet  you  may 
hinder  its  growth  and  development  by  your  efforts, 
and  you  may  stop  His  working  for  awhile;  for  the 
great  thing  which  God  is  seeking  to  do  in  you  and  me 
is  to  stop  all  of  our  self-sufficiency.  He  permits  to 
fail  everything  that  we  do  to  help  Him,  and  when  we 
faint  and  fall  He  comes  to  our  rescue.  Peter  started 
to  walk  on  the  water,  and  I  believe  that  his  beginning 
of  faith  was  precious  to  God.  Peter  knew  that  he 
could  not  walk  on  the  water  unless  God  enabled  him, 
and  he  waited  for  Christ's  command.  Christ's  com- 
mands are  always  His  enablings.  He  spoke  to  Peter, 
who  was  all  right  as  long  as  he  kept  his  eye  on  the 
Author  and  Finisher  of  his  faith.  But  he  cast  one  look 
around,  and  saw  the  billows,  and  when  he  took  his  eyes 
off  from  Jesus  down  he  went.  He  did  not  have  time 
for  a  long  prayer  then;  he  just  gave  one  cry  as  he 
felt  himself  sinking,  "Lord,  save  me,"  and  Jesus 
reached  out  His  hand  and  caught  him.  The  Lord  did 
not  reprove  him  for  his  doubts  until  He  had  a  strong 
hold  upon  him ;  so,  dear  ones,  He  will  not  reprove  you 
for  your  unbelief  until  He  has  a  strong,  sure  hold 
upon  you.  With  Jesus'  strong  clasp  upon  him,  know- 


CAST  NOT  AWAY  YOUR  CONFIDENCE         121 

ing  he  was  safe,  Peter  could  endure  the  Lord's  re- 
proof. 

The  Lord  is  always  striking  blows  at  our  self- 
effort  ;  He  must  put  down  all  of  our  own  works,  for 
Christ  must  get  all  the  glory.  Every  thing  that  we  try 
to  do  in  the  human  is  a  part  of  our  old  nature, — that 
old  nature  that  has  been  condemned,  and  that  has  been 
nailed  to  the  Cross.  God  tells  us  to  put  off  the  old  man 
and  put  on  the  new.  You  say,  "How  can  I  do  that?" 
You  can  do  it  only  through  the  Spirit  of  God.  "If  ye 
through  the  Spirit  do  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body, 
ye  shall  live/'  (Rom.  8:13).  We  can  say,  "Blessed 
Holy  Ghost,  I  trust  Thee,  through  Christ,  to  mortify 
the  deeds  of  my  body."  He  ,does  not  lead  us  to  strug- 
gle but  to  rest,  as  we  continually  respond  to  His  work- 
ings. As  He  works  the  death  of  Christ  within  us,  the 
Christ-life  springs  up,  and  this  is  true  of  the  body  as 
well  as  of  the  soul.  Death  and  resurrection  are  going 
on  all  the  time  within  us.  We  may  have  some  habit 
that  is  not  to  the  glory  of  God,  (it  might  be  eating  or 
drinking)  so  we  turn  ourselves  over  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
saying,  "I  trust  THEE  to  put  it  to  death ;  I  trust  Thee 
to  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body."  What  for?  That 
I  may  die  ?  No,  that  I  may  LIVE.  Right  on  the  ashes 
of  the  old  life  comes  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ. 
People  do  not  understand  that  struggling,  trying,  and 
all  self-effort  is  what  God  wants  to  put  to  death.  The 
Holy  Spirit  wants  to  work  IN  us  continually  what 
Christ  has  worked  OUT  for  us  on  the  Cross,  and  He 
also  wants  to  work  in  us  the  resurrection  life  of  Christ. 
So  the  Word  says,  "Yield  yourselves  unto  God  as  those 
that  are  alive  from  the  dead."  (Rom.  8:13).  What! 
Alive  from  the  dead  already?  Yes,  God  tells  you  to 
take  that  attitude :  "and  your  members  as  instruments 
unto  God."  You  yield,  and  the  Heavenly  Potter  will 
mould  the  clay.  One  great  trick  of  the  Devil  is  to 
make  you  watch  yourself,  and  make  you  look  at  your 
failures  and  defeats ;  but  instead  of  that  you  must  look 
at  Jesus,  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  your  faith.  We 
are  transformed  by  beholding  HIM:  changed  into 
His  image,  from  glory  to  glory;  "as  by  the  Spirit  of 


122  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

the  Lord.''  Glory  today,  but  more  glory  tomorrow. 
"The  path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light  which 
shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day/'  So  He 
tells  us  not  to  cast  away  our  confidence;  it  is  going 
to  be  greatly  rewarded.  If  we  go  on  with  the  Lord  in 
obedience  we  shall  not  cast  away  our  confidence.  But 
let  us  understand  that  between  the  beginning  of  His 
first  working  of  faith  in  us,  and  the  finishing,  there 
is  a  need.  Look  at  verse  36;  "Ye  have  need  of  pa- 
tience/' "Let  patience  have  her  perfect  work,  that  ye 
may  be  perfect  and  entire,  wanting  nothing/'  Oh,  if 
we  only  knew  how  necessary  it  is  to  have  our  patience 
perfected.  God  has  begun  in  you  the  Heavenly  faith, 
and  yet  He  says,  "ye  have  need  of  patience  that  after 
ye  have  done  the  will  of  God  ye  might  receive  the 
promise."  The  faith  itself  is  the  beginning  of  the 
will  of  God,  and  the  patience  is  the  continuing  in  His 
will.  I  have  had  this  process  worked  out  in  me  many 
times.  God  says,  "The  trying  of  your  faith  worketh 
patience."  We  must  believe  this  is  true  because  God 
says  so;  we  must  take  His  statement  for  everything. 
It  is  absolutely  necessary  for  us  to  have  our  faith 
tried;  and  He  says  that  the  trial  of  our  faith  is  more 
precious  than  gold  though  it  be  tried  with  fire. 

Have  you  been  in  one  of  those  fiery  trials?  At 
the  first  we  are  in  such  a  hurry  to  have  the  thing 
worked  out  that  we  beat  our  wings  against  the  bars 
of  the  cage,  but  by  and  by  we  settle  down  into  God's 
rest  and  patience,  and  then,  lo,  the  cage  door  opens, 
and  we  can  come  out.  God  puts  us  into  the  fire,  as  gold 
is  refined,  and  the  sparks  of  restlessness  and  impatience 
and  unbelief  keep  flying  everywhere;  but  when  the 
dross  is  all  consumed,  God  takes  us  from  the  fire. 
You  know  when  we  first  get  into  the  trial  of  faith 
those  sparks  are  rather  disagreeable  to  those  around 
us !  Dear  ones,  if  we  see  any  of  God's  children  hav- 
ing a  trial  of  faith,  let  us  be  patient  and  loving  with 
them,  and  pray  much  for  them.  Let  us  have  so  much 
love  that  we  will  never  say,  "How  cross  and  disagree- 
able you  are !"  But  pray  secretly,  "Father,  help  your 
child  in  this  trial/'  And  give  the  soft  answer  that 


CAST  NOT  AWAY  YOUR  CONFIDENCE        123 

will  help  them  bear  it.  God  tells  us  not  to  think  this 
fiery  trial  strange  "as  though  some  strange  thing  had 
happened  to  us."  So  instead  of  saying,  "How  strange 
this  is!"  just  say,  "I  praise  Thee,  Lord,  that  Thou 
art  burning  out  all  the  dross/' 

I  have  been  reading  the  first  chapter  of  Ezekiel 
about  the  wheel  within  the  wheel,  and  we  also  read  that 
"the  spirit  of  the  living  creature  was  in  the  wheels." 
It  would  seem  that  these  wheels  are  the  providences 
in  our  lives.  The  inner  wheels,  the  outer  wheels,  and 
all  the  wheels  are  working  out  God's  plan  for  us ;  and 
His  Spirit  is  in  His  redeemed  ones,  and  also  in  His 
providences  for  them.  Soon  after  my  miraculous 
healing  when  a  girl,  the  Lord  gave  me  a  great  warn- 
ing through  this  verse :  "Now  the  just  shall  live  by 
faith,  but  if  any  man  draw  back,  My  soul  shall  have 
no  pleasure  in  him."  God  does  .not  mean  that  you 
shall  only  have  faith  at  special  times  like  dessert  at  a 
meal,  but  your  whole  life,  at  every  step,  must  be  one 
of  faith  in  the  living  God.  Andrew  Murray  says,  that, 
"Faith  is  helplessly,  dependently  leaning  on  the  arm  of 
God."  When  God  gave  me  the  above  text  it  almost 
frightened  me  lest  I  should  draw  back.  But  He  showed 
me  that  He  was  able  to  keep  that  which  I  had  com- 
mitted unto  Him.  You  drop  your  letter  in  the  mail- 
box and  it  will  be  carried  to  its  destination,  but  if  you 
put  it  in  part  way  and  keep  your  thumb  and  finger  on 
it,  it  will  never  get  any  farther.  If  you  drop  it  by  faith 
out  of  your  hand  into  the  box,  then  the  United  States 
Government  is  responsible  to  take  that  letter  to  the 
place  where  it  belongs. 

How  do  we  get  this  faith  ?  In  Deut.  8 13  we  read 
that  "man  doth  not  live  by  bread  only,  but  by  every 
word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Lord 
doth  man  live."  If  you  read  only  a  little  of  God's 
Word  you  will  have  only  a  small  amount  of  life,  but 
if  you  read  the  Bible  from  cover  to  cover,  over  and 
over  again,  and  trust  the  Holy  Spirit  to  interpret  it  to 
you,  you  will  be  filled  with  life  and  with  faith.  God 
says  if  we  hear  His  words  and  do  them  we  shall  be  like 
the  man  who  built  his  house  on  the  rock,  and  when 


124  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

the  storms  come  we  will  not  be  moved.  "Faith  cometh 
by  hearing  and  hearing  by  the  Word  of  God."  You 
say  that  you  need  more  faith  this  morning.  Then 
you  need  to  hear  God  speak,  for  faith  cometh  by  hear- 
ing. You  say  that  you  would  like  to  hear  God  speak. 
Then  take  that  attitude  of  soul  that  listens  for  God's 
voice.  Read,  pray,  ponder,  meditate  on  His  Word 
until  you  are  so  filled  with  the  Word  of  God  in  the 
power  of  the  Spirit  that  you  will  hear  "The  voice  of 
His  Word,"  and  you  will  hear  something  so  wonder- 
ful, so  glorious,  that  in  this  whole  earth  you  have 
never  heard  anything  like  it.  You  have  a  right  to  hear 
His  voice  if  you  are  His  sheep.  You  have  a  right  to 
ask  that  you  may  hear  it,  for  Jesus  said,  "My  sheep 
hear  My  voice."  When  you  hear  that  voice  you  will 
have  a  new  spiritual  experience,  and  when  you  are 
hearing  that  voice  and  obeying  it  you  will  never  follow 
any  other  false  voice,  for  Jesus  said,  "A  stranger  will 
they  not  follow."  A  man  visiting  the  far  East  said  to 
a  shepherd,  "Let  me  dress  up  in  your  clothes  and  see 
if  the  sheep  will  not  come  at  my  call."  So  he  dressed 
in  the  shepherd's  garb,  and  went  out  and  called  the 
sheep,  but  they  paid  no  attention  to  him.  They  were 
not  deceived  for  they  KNEW  the  shepherd's  voice. 

What  is  faith?  "Faith  is  the  evidence  of  things 
not  seen."  It  is  that  assurance  within  ouY  souls  which 
comes  from  believing  God's  Word,  which  is  the  sub- 
stance of  things  hoped  for/'  and  which  is  more  real 
than  the  thing  itself.  This  kind  of  faith  is  always  re- 
warded by  sight,  but  we  must  believe  first  before  we 
see.  But  you  say,  "Prayer  has  been  offered  for  my 
healing  and  I  do  not  feel  any  different."  No,  faith 
is  the  thing  you  do  NOT  FEEL;  it  is  spiritual  sub- 
stance and  is  more  real  than  anything  you  can  see  or 
feel.  God's  works  begin  in  the  root  and  not  in  the 
bran'ch,  and  the  beginning  of  His  mighty  working  in 
the  healing  of  your  body  is  to  root  this  faith  within 
you.  This  is  a  secret  of  the  Lord.  "The  secret  of  the 
Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  Him,  and  He  will  show 
them  His  covenant."  It  is  for  you  to  know  the  secret 
of  the  Lord  if  you  will  press  on  to  know  Him.  "Then 


CAST  NOT  AWAY  YOUR  CONFIDENCE        125 

shall  we  know,  if  we  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord." 
(Hos.  6:3). 

When  only  a  young  girl,  God  put  in  my  heart  a 
hunger  and  thirst  for  Himself  and  His  righteousness, 
and  through  doubt  and  fears  and  suffering  I  pressed 
on  to  find  HIM,  Who  by  His  love  was  drawing  me. 
And  when  the  last  thing  was  laid  at  His  feet  in  conse- 
cration, He  not  only  healed  me,  but  showed  me  the 
secret  of  faith  that  changed  my  whole  life.  I  had  to 
forsake  all  and  follow  Him,  but  how  gloriously  I  have 
been  repaid. 


126  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  XX. 
"Neither  Murmur  Ye." 

"Neither  murmur  ye,  as  some  of  them  also  mur- 
mured, and  were  destroyed  of  the  destroyer/'  This 
text  has  been  so  impressed  upon  me  of  late,  that  I 
feel  to  give  it  out  as  a  solemn  warning  to  those  who 
are  grieving  and  dishonoring  the  Lord  by  their  mur- 
murings.  A  truly  consecrated  life  is  a  life  of  praise, 
which  is  distinctly  opposite  from  murmuring.  If  we 
are  filled  with  the  joy  of  the  Lord,  we  shall  be  filled 
with  the  spirit  of  praise  and  gratitude,  and  even  when 
our  lips  are  not  voicing  that  praise,  our  hearts  will 
rise  in  praise  to  God,  like  a  fountain  day  and  night. 
The  Word  tells  us  that  the  joy  of  the  Lord  is  our 
strength;  and  we  shall  be  weak  in  body,  as  well  as 
soul,  without  that  joy.  People  often  indulge  in  de- 
pression, and  feelings  of  discouragement,  when  they 
would  not  openly  use  expressions  of  discontent:  but 
this  is  displeasing  to  God,  and  we  should  resist  the 
Devil  steadfastly  when  he  tries  to  put  such  feelings 
upon  us.  Just  as  we  turn  from  other  forms  of  sin, 
and  refuse  the  temptation  of  the  enemy  in  Jesus' 
Name,  so  we  must  resist  this  discouragement,  for  if 
we  entertain  it,  the  enemy  will  soon  get  a  greater  hold 
upon  us.  Undoubtedly  there  are  people  today  who 
are  under  the  terrible  power  of  the  enemy  with  melan- 
cholia, or  even  insanity,  who  would  have  kept  free 
from  the  Devil's  clutches,  if  they  had  only  resisted  his 
depression  from  the  beginning. 

In  the  text  at  the  beginning  of  this  article,  we 
see  that  those  who  murmured  in  the  olden  time  were 
destroyed  of  the  Destroyer.  As  we  turn  back  to  the 
fourteenth  chapter  of  Numbers,  we  read  the  sad  story 
of  the  murmurings  of  the  children  of  Israel,  when 
they  believed  the  story  of  the  unfaithful  spies  (who 
discouraged  their  heart)  and  refused  to  listen  to  Josh- 


"NEITHER  MURMUR  YE"  127 

ua  and  Caleb,  when  they  said,  "Only  rebel  not  ye 
against  the  Lord,  neither  fear  ye  the  people  of  the 
land ;  for  they  are  bread  for  us :  fear  them  not." 
The  only  answer  that  Joshua  and  Caleb  received  in 
answer  to  the  faithful,  encouraging  message  was  that 
"all  the  congregation  bade  stone  them  with  stones." 
But  at  this  point  the  glory  of  the  Lord  appeared  in  the 
tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  and  the  Lord  said  unto 
Moses,  "How  long  will  this  people  provoke  Me? 
and  how  long  will  it  be  ere  they  believe  Me,  for  all 
the  signs  which  I  have  showed  among  them?  I  will 
smite  them  with  the  pestilence,  and  disinherit  them, 
and  will  make  of  thee  a  greater  nation,  and  mightier 
than  they."  Then  follows  the  wonderful  intercession 
of  Moses  for  this  people,  until  the  Lord  pardons ; 
but  He  says  those  men  who  had  seen  His  glory,  and 
His  miracles,  and  had  tempted  Him  these  ten  times, 
should  not  see  the  land  which  had  been  promised 
unto  their  fathers.  God  also  says,  "I  have  heard 
the  murmurings  of  the  children  of  Israel  which  they 
murmur  against  Me.  Say  unto  them,  As  truly  as  I 
live  saith  the  Lord,  AS  YE  HAVE  SPOKEN  IN 
MINE  EARS  SO  WILL  I  DO  TO  YOU."  In  their 
discontent  and  unbelief,  they  had  said  that  the  Lord 
had  brought  them  out  of  Egypt  to  this  land  to  be  a 
prey,  and  the  Lord  takes  them  at  their  word.  When 
we  speak  in  faith,  and  take  hold  of  the  promises  of 
God,  He  says  that  we  shall  have  whatsoever  we  say, 
and  likewise  He  visits  upon  us  according  to  our  un- 
believing words.  But  as  Moses  was  the  intercessor 
then,  praise  God  we  now  have  a  greater  One  to  in- 
tercede for  us,  and  when  we  are  truly  repentant  and 
humble  ourselves  before  Him,  He  says,  "I  have  prayed 
for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not,"  and  He  tells  us  to 
go  in  peace  and  sin  no  more.  Nevertheless  it  is  in  the 
New  Testament  that  we  are  warned  as  at  the  beginning 
of  this  article,  "Neither  murmur  ye,  as  some  of  them 
also  murmured,  and  were  destroyed  of  the  Destroyer." 
We  read  in  Num.  14:36,  37  that  those  men  who  re- 
turned and  made  all  the  congregation  to  murmur 
against  him,  by  bringing  up  a  slander  upon  the  land, 


128  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

"even  those  men  that  did  bring  up  the  evil  report 
upon  the  land,  DIED  BY  THE  PLAGUE  before  the 
Lord/'  Thus  we  see  what  responsibility  rests  upon 
those  whom  God  has  appointed  to  search  the  land. 
We  often  see  such  leaders  or  prominent  ones  before 
the  people,  suddenly  cut  down  when  they  have  seemed 
to  fail  God  in  leading  the  flock  on  into  richer  pastures 
of  His  mercy  and  grace,  when  the  sheep  of  the  flock 
have  been  spared,  and  while  we  may  not  judge  such 
people  individually,  yet  we  cannot  fail  to  see  a  solemn 
warning  here  by  which  we  should  all  profit.  Ezek.  34 
shows  God's  grief  over  the  shepherds  who  feed  not 
the  flock,  and  also  shows  His  judgment  of  such.  And 
when  we  see  so  many  shepherds  today  who  fail  to  go 
on  in  God's  light  themselves,  and  who  tread  down 
the  pastures,  and  foul  the  waters,  so  that  the  hungry 
and  thirsty  sheep  may  not  eat  or  drink,  we  do  not 
wonder  that  God  says,  "Because  My  flock  became  a 
prey  .  .  .  because  there  was  no  shepherd  .  .  .  thus 
saith  the  Lord  God,  Behold  I  am  against  the  shep- 
herds, and  I  will  require  My  flock  at  their  hand  and 
cause  them  to  cease  from  feeding  the  flock."  (Read 
this  whole  chapter,  and  pray  for  those  shepherds 
that  remain,  with  whom  God  has  not  yet  entered  into 
judgment). 

How  solemn  are  the  words,  "THE  LORD  HEAR- 
ETH  YOUR  MURMURINGS."  Do  we  want  Him 
to  hear  such  things,  when  He  is  listening  for  our 
praises?  All  expressions  and  thoughts  of  discontent 
proceed  from  unbelief,  as  they  did  in  the  olden  time, 
and  praise  springs  from  faith.  The  attitude  of  one 
filled  with  the  Spirit  is  to  be  "speaking  to  yourselves 
in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,  singing  and 
making  melody  in  your  heart  to  the  Lord."  Is  it  not 
wonderful  that  when  the  Lord  is  listening  to  all  the 
hosts  of  Heaven,  in  their  marvelous  anthems  of  praise, 
that  He  cannot  be  satisfied  without  that  melody  in  the 
hearts  of  His  little  ones  here  on  earth?  Shall  we  dis- 
appoint His  heart  ?  We  are  not  only  to  sing  ABOUT 
Him,  but  over  and  over  in  the  Psalms  we  are  com- 
manded to  sing  UNTO  the  Lord.  He  says,  "Whoso 


"NEITHER  MURMUR  YE"  129 

off ereth  praise  glorifieth  Me :  and  to  Him  that  ordereth 
his  conversation  aright  will  I  show  the  salvation  of 
God."  (Psa.  50:23).  The  context  shows  that  the  right 
conversation  is  PRAISE,  and  as  we  praise  Him,  and 
continue  to  praise  Him,  no  matter  how  dark  the 
pathway,  the  light  will  shine,  and  we  shall  know  His 
fulness  of  salvation,  for  spirit,  soul  and  body. 


130  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
God's  Mercy  to  Those  Who  Humble  Themselves. 

When  we  come  to  God  in  prayer  it  must  be  in  an 
attitude  of  faith,  for  the  Word  says  that  we  must  not 
only  believe  that  God  IS,  but  also  that  "He  is  a  RE- 
WARDER  of  them  that  diligently  seek  Him."  Many 
of  us  are  praying  today  with  fasting.  Fasting  is 
somjething  that  the  flesh  does  not  like,  but  Jesus 
said  about  one  kind  of  demons,  "This  kind  goeth  not 
out  but  by  prayer  and  fasting",  and  we  have  often 
found  that  we  have  obtained  victory  in  this  way 
when  we  could  not  in  any  other  way.  The  conflict 
that  we  are  in  today  is  not  one  with  flesh  and  blood, 
but  with  principalities  and  powers,  and  the  rulers  of 
the  darkness  of  this  world  and  spiritual  wickedness 
in  high  places.  (Eph.  6:12.)  And  we  must  believe  God 
when  He  tells  us  that  "the  weapons  of  our  warfare  are 
mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong- 
holds." These  weapons  are  the  Word  of  God,  which  is 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit ;  and  "all  prayer  and  supplica- 
tion in  the  Spirit".  Notice  these  are  mighty  "through 
God."  As  we  let  God,  the  Holy  Ghost,  use  these 
weapons  through  us,  we  can  believe  for  the  pulling 
down  of  strongholds  of  sin.  We  see  the  demon  power 
which  actuates  men  to  array  themselves  against  each 
other  with  deadly  hatred,  and  the  people  themselves 
do  not  know  that  they  are  being  controlled  by  this 
power  of  the  enemy.  Let  us  trust  God  to  use  these 
weapons  today  as  we  come  to  Him  with  prayer  and 
fasting,  so  that  we  may  have  the  assurance  of  victory, 
as  we  did  when  the  influenza  was  at  its  height  in 
Oakland;  we  called  a  day  of  prayer  and  fasting  and 
immediately  God  raised  His  hand  to  show  that  He 
was  God,  and  gave  deliverance.  At  once  there  was 
a  marked  decrease  in  the  disease,  and  in  a  few  days 
the  daily  papers  declared  that  it  was  stamped  out 


GOD'S  MERCY  TO  THOSE  WHO  HUMBLE       131 
THEMSELVES 

of  Oakland.  One  Christian  friend  who  has  an  Em- 
ployment Office,  said  that  she  did  not  have  another 
call  for  a  nurse  after  that  day,  although  she  had  not 
been  able  to  supply  the  demand  before  that. 

Now  can  we  believe  God?  Is  our  attitude  right 
before  Him?  I  want  to  give  you  a  thought  from 
Ezek.  9:6.  First  we  will  notice  the  context,  in  the 
eighth  chapter.  God's  people  had  been  guilty  of 
horrible  sins,  and  God  shows  to  the  prophet  one 
abomination  after  another  that  the  people  had  com- 
mitted. Some  of  these  sins  were  so  hidden  that  the 
prophet  himself  does  not  seem  to  know  about  them 
only  as  the  Lord  reveals  them  to  him  in  a  vision. 
There  was  terrible  idolatry,  worshipping  the  sun  and 
worshipping  idols  (not  altogether  outwardly,  but  in 
their  unclean  imaginations).  In  chapter  9:2  we  read 
of  the  man  clothed  with  linen,  with  a  writer's  ink- 
horn  by  his  side,  a  heavenly  messenger  sent  to  do 
God's  work.  The  Lord  told  this  man  to  go  through 
Jerusalem  and  "set  a  mark  upon  the  foreheads  of 
the  men  that  sigh  and  that  cry  for  all  abominations 
that  be  done  in  the  midst  thereof."  The  wickedness 
of  the  people  was  so  great  that  it  would  seem  that 
these  who  sighed  and  cried  were  powerless  to  stem 
the  tide  of  evil,  but  God  looked  rather  at  the  attitude 
of  their  heart  toward  Him,  and  delivered  them  in 
the  time  of  His  judgment. 

What  is  your  attitude  toward  the  evil  that  is  filling 
the  world  today?  You  say,  "I  am  so  sorry  about  it 
all."  But  do  you  have  a  concern  day  by  day  unto 
prayer?  When  your  loved  ones  are  sick  unto  death 
you  have  a  concern  unto  prayer.  But  if  it  is  your 
neighbor's  child  you  have  sympathy,  but  you  may 
not  have  the  deep  concern  which  leads  to  prevailing 
prayer.  This  passage  shows  how  God  notices  the 
attitude  of  His  people's  hearts;  and  He  is  looking 
right  down  into  your  heart  and  mine  to  see  our  atti- 
tude today  as  we  wait  upon  Him. 

I  do  not  suppose  that  anyone  saw  the  mark  that 
was  put  upon  the  forehead  of  these  people,  for  it 


132  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

was  a  spiritual  mark,  but  God  saw  the  mark  on  those 
wlio  were  thus  singled  out.  If  the  attitude  of  our 
heart  is  right  we  will  usigh  and  cry"  unto  Him  for 
the  selfishness,  and  the  covetousness,  and  the  idolatry, 
and  the  lack  of  concern  for  God's  glory  which  exists 
among  His  dear  people;  the  many  who  are  worldly 
and  who  neglect  God's  word  for  trifling  things,  and 
light  literature,  and  who  waste  the  precious  time 
which  He  has  given  them  for  His  service.  We  find 
many  professing  Christians  who  do  not  know  God's 
word,  and  who  do  not  even  know  how  to  turn  to 
different  books  in  the  Bible. 

The  key  to  the  present  situation  is  God's  own 
people  themselves,  for  God  says,  "If  My  people,  which 
are  called  by  My  name,  shall  humble  themselves,  and 
pray,  and  seek  My  face,  and  turn  from  their  wicked 
ways ;  then  I  will  hear  from  Heaven,  and  will  forgive 
their  sin,  and  will  heal  their  land."  II  Chron.  7:14. 
If  God's  children  would  get  together  in  love,  and 
unity,  and  pray  much,  God  would  work.  Perhaps 
you  have  a  drawing-room  where  a  few  people  could 
meet  together  and  read  the  Word  of  God,  and  wait 
on  Him.  God  would  surely  pour  out  His  blessing  on 
such  little  gatherings.  After  this  mark  was  put  on 
the  foreheads  of  those  who  sighed  and  cried  for  the 
abominations  that  were  done  in  Israel,  God  sent  mes- 
sengers having  destroying  weapons  in  their  hands 
(Ezek.  9:14)  to  slay  all  those  who  did  not  have 
the  mark  in  their  foreheads,  and  He  said,  "Begin 
at  My  sanctuary/'  Judgment  had  to  begin  at  what 
should  have  been  the  holiest  place  of  all.  All  of 
those  who  had  the  right  heart  attitude  were  protected, 
and  none  of  them  were  slain.  In  the  midst  of  God's 
judgments  it  is  still  true  that  "the  eyes  of  the  Lord 
run  to  and  fro  throughout  the  whole  earth  to  show 
Himself  strong  in  the  behalf  of  them  whose  heart 
is  perfect  toward  Him."  God  said  to  the  men  who 
had  the  destroying  weapons,  "Come  not  near  any 
man  upon  whom  is  the  mark." 

We  have  come  here  today  to  humble  ourselves 
before  God.  Let  us  take  a  few  examples  from  the 


GOD'S  MERCY  TO  THOSE  WHO  HUMBLE       133 
THEMSELVES 

Word  of  God  showing  His  mercy  to  those  who 
humbled  themselves  before  Him.  Notice  that  some 
of  these  people  were  very  wicked,  and  one  would 
think  that  God  would  not  listen  to  them  even  if  they 
humbled  themselves,  but  it  encourages  us  so  much 
to  see  the  great  compassion  of  God,  to  even  the  most 
wicked  people,  when  they  are  willing  to  humble  them- 
selves at  His  feet,  and  confess  their  sins. 

Turn  to  II  Chron.  12 :6,  7.  This  record  is  of 
Rehoboam  who  ''forsook  the  law  of  the  Lord,  and 
all  Israel  with  him."  God  allowed  the  King  of  Egypt 
to  come  against  Jerusalem,  because  they  had  trans- 
gressed against  Him.  But  we  read  that  "the  princes 
of  Israel,  and  the  King  humbled  themselves,  and  they 
said,  The  Lord  is  righteous.  And  when  the  Lord 
saw  that  .they  humbled  themselves,  the  word  of  the 
Lord  came  to  Shemaiah,  saying,  They  have  humbled 
themselves ;  therefore  I  will  not  destroy  them,  but 
I  will  grant  them  some  deliverance,  and  My  wrath 
shall  not  be  poured  out  upon  Jerusalem/' 

See  II  Chron.  34 127.  This  word  came  through 
Huldah,  the  prophetess,  to  Josiah  the  King.  The 
record  tells  us  that  Josiah  had  walked  in  the  ways  of 
David  his  father,  and  he  had  purged  away  the  high 
places,  and  the  groves,  and  the  carved  images,  and 
had  broken  down  the  altars  of  Baal,  and  had  beaten 
the  graven  images  into  powder,  and  had  cut  down 
all  the  idols  throughout  the  land.  Finally  Hilkiah 
the  priest  found  a  book  of  the  law  of  the  Lord,  given 
by  Moses.  This  book  was  taken  to  the  King,  and 
when  it  was  read  to  him,  he  had  a  much  greater 
knowledge  of  how  grievously  the  people  had  sinned 
against  the  Lord.  "And  it  came  to  pass  when  the 
King  had  heard  the  words  of  the  law,  that  he  rent 
his  clothes,"  and  he  sent  messengers  to  inquire  of  the 
prophetess.  The  message  was  brought  back  to  the 
King  that  God  would  bring  judgment  upon  His  people 
and  their  land;  but  this  27th  verse  was  a  special 
message  of  God's  mercy  to  Josiah:  "Because  thine 
heart  was  tender,  and  thou  didst  humble  thyself  be- 


134  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

fore  God,  and  didst  rend  thy  clothes  and  weep  before 
Me;  I  have  even  heard  thee  also,  saith  the  Lord.'' 
The  judgment  was  delayed,  as  the  promise  was  given 
to  the  King  that  his  eyes  should  not  see  the  evil 
which  would  come  later  upon  the  place  and  its  in- 
habitants. 

The  next  passage  is  IlChron.  32 126.  King  Heze- 
kiah  was  a  man  to  whom  God  showed  great  mercy. 
When  he  was  sick  unto  death  he  turned  his  face 
to  the  wall,  and  prayed,  and  God  "wrought  a  miracle'* 
for  him,  giving  him  such  a  wonderful  deliverance, 
that  even  the  princes  of  Babylon  came  to  "inquire 
about  the  wonder  that  was  done  in  the  land."  But 
we  read  that  Hezekiah  "rendered  not  again  according 
to  the  benefit  done  unto  him,  for  his  heart  was  lifted 
up/'  and  instead  of  testifying  to  these  princes,  and 
telling  them  about  the  true  God,  he  showed  them  all 
of  his  precious  things,  his  silver  and  gold,  his  spices, 
his  armour,  etc.,  (see  II  Kings  20:13)  therefore  the. 
wrath  of  the  Lord  was  pronounced  upon  him  and  his 
people.  The  26th  verse  of  II  Chron.  32,  reads  thus, 
"Notwithstanding  Hezekiah  humbled  himself  for  the 
pride  of  his  heart,  both  he  and  the  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem,  so  that  the  wrath  of  the  Lord  came  not 
upon  them  in  the  days  of  Hezekiah." 

Beloved,  note  this  lesson,  and  be  sure  to  render 
again  for  the  benefit  by  faithful  testimony,  when  the 
Lord  heals  you,  or  otherwise  answers  prayer.  We 
have  known  many  who  have  failed  to  glorify  the  Lord 
by  testimony,  and  the  same  trouble  overtook  them 
again,  and  they  would  be  obliged  to  humble  them- 
selves greatly  before  they  could  again  obtain  de- 
liverance. 

Next  we  read  of  Manasseh,  the  very  wicked  King, 
who  did  that  which  was  "evil*  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
like  unto  the  abominations  of  the  heathen,  whom  the 
Lord  had  cast  out  before  the  children  of  Israel." 
(II  Chron.  33  :i,  2.)  Then  follows  in  detail  a  descrip- 
tion of  his  awful  wickedness.  Finally  God's  judg- 
ments overtook  Manasseh,  and  he  was  carried  away 
in  fetters  to  Babylon.  But  we  read  in  verse  12,  that 


GOD'S  MERCY  TO  THOSE  WHO  HUMBLE      135 
THEMSELVES 

"when  he  was  in  affliction,  he  besought  the  Lord  his 
God,  and  humbled  himself  greatly  before  the  God  of 
his  fathers,  and  prayed  unto  Him:  and  He  was  in- 
treated  of  him,  and  heard  his  supplication,  and  brought 
him  again  to  Jerusalem  into  his  kingdom.  Then 
Manasseh  knew  that  the  Lord  He  was  God." 

Nothing  touches  me  more  than  the  story  in  I  Kings 
21 125-29.  We  all  know  how  wicked  King  Ahab  was, 
and  the  Word  reads,  "There  was  none  like  unto  Ahab, 
which  did  sell  himself  to  work  wickedness  in  the  sight 
of  the  Lord,  whom  Jezebel  his  wife  stirred  up.  And 
he  did  very  abominably  in  following  idols."  The  word 
of  the  Lord  had  come  to  Ahab  by  Elijah  the  prophet, 
that  great  evil  would  come  upon  him,  and  his  house, 
and  that  He  would  make  his  house  like  the  house  of 
Jeroboam,  etc.  We  read  in  verse  27,  "When  Ahab 
heard  those  words  that  he  rent  his  clothes,  and  put 
sackcloth  upon  his  flesh,  and  fasted,  and  lay  in  sack- 
cloth, and  went  softly."  Now  this  is  what  touches 
me  so, — it  seems  as  though  the  Lord  almost  apologizes 
to  the  prophet  for  His  mercy  to  this  wicked  King.  He 
said  to  Elijah,  "Seest  thou  how  Ahab  humblest 
himself  before  Me,  because  he  humblest  himself 
before  Me  I  will  not  bring  the  evil  in  his  day." 
And  God  deferred  the  judgment;  and  I  believe  that 
He  is  now  deferring  many  judgments  because  of  the 
prayers  of  His  people.  We  read  in  II  Thess.  2:7  of 
the  One  who  letteth  (hindereth)  until  He  be  taken 
out  of  the  way.  And  then  shall  that  Wicked  be  re- 
vealed, etc.  This  One  who  hinders  the  full  manifes- 
tation of  the  lawless  one  is  the  blessed  Holy  Ghost, 
who  is  hindering  through  the  prevailing  prayers  (in- 
spired by  Himself)  offered  by  God's  people,  as  they 
sigh  and  cry  before  Him  for  the  abominations  that 
are  in  the  earth.  We  believe  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
will  thus  continue  to  hinder  until  the  Overcomers  are 
taken  away,---caught  up  to  be  with  their  Lord.  There- 
fore let  us  walk  very  humbly  and  softly  with  God,  and 
be  filled  with  the  Spirit,  that  we  may  at  all  times  be  a 
yielded  channel  for  His  own  intercession. 


136  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
The  Promise  of  the  Father. 

We  will  look  at  Acts  2 11-4;  16-18,  32,  33 ;  then  we 
will  turn  to  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  Acts.  "And 
when  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully  come,  they  were 
all  with  one  accord  in  one  place.  And  suddenly  there 
came  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  rushing  mighty 
wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house  where  they  were 
sitting.  And  there  appeared  unto  them  cloven  tongues 
like  as  of  fire,  and  it  sat  upon  each  of  them.  And 
they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  began 
to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave  them 
utterance."  Now  we  will  read  what  Peter  said  in 
explanation,  "This  is  that  which  was  spoken  by  the 
prophet  Joel;  and  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last 
days,  saith  God,  I  will  pour  out  of  My  Spirit  upon 
all  flesh:  and  your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall 
prophesy,  and  your  young  men  shall  see  visions,  and 
your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams ;  and  on  My  ser- 
vants and  on  My  handmaidens  I  will  pour  out  in  those 
days  of  My  Spirit ;  and  they  shall  prophesy :  and  I 
will  show  wonders  in  the  heaven  above,  and  signs  in 
the  earth  beneath ;  blood,  and  fire,  and  vapor  of  smoke : 
the  sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the  moon 
into  blood,  before  the  great  and  notable  day  of  the 
Lord  come:  and  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  whoso- 
ever shall  call  upon  the  Name  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
saved."  And  going  on  to  the  32nd  verse  we  read, 
"This  Jesus  hath  God  raised  up,  whereof  we  are  all 
witnesses.  Therefore  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God 
exalted,  and  having  received  of  the  Father  the  promise 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  He  hath  shed  forth  this,  which  ye 
now  see  and  hear."  We  will  first  notice  verse  33, 
"Being  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having 
received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
He  hath  shed  forth  this,  which  ye  now  see  and  hear." 


THE   PROMISE  OF  THE  FATHER  137 

When  the  Lord  Jesus  was  talking  to  His  disciples 
about  the  coming  of  the  Comforter,  sometimes  He 
said  the  Father  would  send  Him,  and  sometimes  He 
said  that  He  Himself  would  send  Him.  After  the 
Lord  Jesus  had  humbled  Himself,  even  to  the  death 
of  the  Cross,  we  read  that  God  highly  exalted  Him 
and  gave  Him  a  Name  that  is  above  every  name,  and 
we  read  in  the  Song  of  Solomon  (about  the  Bride- 
groom of  our  souls)  "Thy  Name  is  as  ointment 
poured  forth."  So  every  time  we  say  the  Name  of 
Jesus  in  faith,  the  holy  anointing  oil  and  the  fragrance 
of  Jesus'  life  and  death  flow  forth  from  that  Name. 
So  we  can  lay  that  Name  in  faith  upon  the  sick  ones, 
and  if  they  are  receptive,  the  healing  ointment  (His 
virtue)  will  flow  forth.  The  alabaster  box  is  broken; 
in  the  breaking  of  Christ's  beautiful,  perfect  body  the 
spikenard  flowed  forth.  Jesus  *  had  received  a  per- 
sonal baptism  of  the  Spirit  when  the  Dove  lit  upon 
Him.  There  was  no  other  place  in  this  world  fit 
for  the  Dove  to  rest  upon  except  the  Holy  Son  of  God. 
The  Father  spoke  from  heaven,  and  here  we  see  the 
blessed  Trinity  revealed, — the  three  persons  of  the 
glorious  Godhead.  The  Dove  still  lights  upon  Christ 
in  our  hearts.  The  holy,  anointing  oil,  which  is  a 
type  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  was  never  put  upon  man's 
flesh,  that  is,  it  could  not  be  used  for  common  purposes. 
We  see  in  this  beautiful  type  that  the  Holy  Spirit  can 
never  be  poured  out  upon  our  flesh,  or  in  other  words, 
upon  our  carnal  nature.  Our  whole  being  must  go 
down  into  death,  and  be  crucified  with  Jesus.  We 
miust  recognize  by  faith  that  we  are  crucified,  and 
also  risen  with  Him,  and  as  He  is  fully  crowned  in  our 
hearts  the  Holy  Dove  comes  upon  the  Christ  within  us. 
We  read  that  because  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified  the 
Holy  Ghost  was  not  given,  (John  7:39.)  And  as 
this  was  true  dispensationally,  it  is  also  true  of  us 
individually.  When  Christ  is  not  fully  enthroned  in 
us,  we  cannot  receive  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
When  everything  of  ourselves  is  put  away,  and  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  supreme  in  our  lives ;  when  like 
Paul  we  can  say,  "Not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me"; 


138  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

when  by  faith  we  can  see  that  we  are  4ead  and  our 
life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  then  Christ  has  the 
pre-eminence,  and  the  King  of  glory  will  come  in, 
henceforth  to  reign  over  our  lives,  and  take  posses- 
sion of  spirit,  soul  and  body ;  it  is  then  that  we  have  a 
resting-place  for  the  Dove  of  God,  and  we  can  invite 
Him  to  His  resting-place,  the  same  on  which  He  rested 
when  Jesus  was  baptized.  When  we  have  a  suitable 
resting-place  for  the  Dove,  even  the  Holy  Son  of 
God,  we  have  a  right  to  invite  Him,  and  He  will  come 
and  feel  at  home;  the  Dove  of  God  abiding  on  the 
spotless  Lamb  of  God,  and  God  the  Father  witnessing 
to  Christ  completes  the  Trinity  within  us.  Jesus  said : 
"No  man  can  come  to  Me,  except  the  Father  which 
hath  sent  Me  draw  him.9'  No  one  can  find  Jesus  ex- 
cept the  Father  draw  him,  and  He  said,  "Neither  know- 
eth  any  man  the  Father,  save  the  Son,  and  he  to  whom- 
soever the  Son  will  reveal  Him/'  How  wonderfully  the 
Three  Persons  of  the  Trinity  work  together  and  yet 
they  are  One  in  Essence.  The  blessed  Father  draws 
to  the  Son,  and  the  Son  reveals  the  Father.  I  had 
long  been  a  Christian  and  known  much  of  the  deep 
things  of  God,  but  Jesus  seemed  nearer  in  a  sense 
than  the  Father,  when  one  day  after  going  down  before 
Him  in  a  great  trial,  Jesus  distinctly  revealed  to  me 
the  Father,  and  since  that  time  the  Personality  of  the 
Father  has  been  more  real  than  ever  before.  And 
since  the  Father  and  Jesus  came  to  abide  in  me  to- 

J ether,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  took  of  the  things  of 
ssus  and  showed  them  unto  me,  I  have  been  con- 
scious of  the  Blessed  Three  Persons  in  my  being  at 
one  time,  in  sweetest  communion.  How  much  joy  and 
ecstacy  we  miss  if  we  do  not  receive  by  faith  these 
great  truths.  We  receive  everything  through  Jesus; 
"in  Him  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily''  for  He  alone  had  a  body.  And  He  said  this 
body  was  prepared  for  Him  in  order  that  He  might 
have  wherewith  to  sacrifice.  He  surrendered  His 
body  to  the  will  of  God,  and  finally  yielded  it  up  in 
sacrifice.  He  rose  from  the  dead,  because  death  could 
not  hold  Him  captive,  and  His  body  now  up  in  the 


THE   PROMISE  OF  THE  FATHER  139 

glory. is  for  us.  If  we  press  forward  in  faith  and  touch 
Him,  there  comes  to  us  from  that  glorious  body  up  in 
heaven  the  virtue  and  life  that  makes  us  "complete 
in  Him";  not  complete  in  ourselves,  but  in  Him.  It 
is  ours  as  we  claim  it  by  faith  in  His  Name,  for  the 
virtue  flows  forth  through  His  exalted  Name,  and  as 
John  saw  Him  up  in  the  glory  "a  Lamb  as  it  had 
been  slain,"  we  see  Him  still  bearing  the  wounds,  and 
as  the  hymn  says,  "They  strongly  plead  for  me/' 

When  Jesus  ascended,  having  fulfilled  all  the  Fath- 
er's will,  He  took  us  with  Him  and  by  faith  we  can 
see  all  His  little  ones  are  taken  with  Him;  we  are 
dead  with  Him ;  we  are  risen  with  Him ;  we  have 
ascended  with  Him,  and  we  must  see  this  before 
we  can  have  the  faith  to  be  translated  with  Him. 
When  He  ascended  He  took  the  body — the  Church — 
with  Him  and  He  received  as  He-ad  of  the  body,  or 
Church,  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit.  "Therefore  having 
received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
By  faith  He  took  us  up  with  Him  in  the  heavenlies. 
We  are  to  have  His  faith.  We  live  "by  the  faith  of 
the  Son  of  God."  When  He  ascended  into  the  heaven- 
lies  He  received  that  Holy  anointing  oi4  as  our  Head, 
and  it  began  to  flow  down  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost. 
We  get  a  beautiful  picture  of  this  in  the  I33rd  Psalm; 
when  brethren  dwell  together  in  unity  it  is  like  the 
holy  anointing  oil  that  was  poured  on  the  head  of 
the  High  Priest  and  ran  down  to  the  skirts  of  his 
garments.  As  we  unite  in  His  perfect  love  it  makes 
the  oil  begin  to  flow  anew  from  the  Head  down  to  the 
smallest  one  among  us.  Our  blessed  Head  has  re- 
ceived the  Baptism  for  His  body,  and  as  you  exalt 
and  magnify  Him,  you  can  receive  this  baptism  which 
He  has  already  received  for  you.  He  is  shedding  forth 
the  Holy  Ghost  continually,  but  in  order  to  receive 
you  have  to  get  properly  related  to  the  Head  and  to 
every  member  of  the  body  of  Christ,  and  if  there  is 
anything  in  you  that  is  not  willing  to  love  every  mem- 
ber, you  are  not  ready  to  receive  the  oil  He  is  shedding 
forth ;  but  if  you  are  fully  exalting  Jesus  as  Head,  and 
are  rightly  related  by  Divine  love  to  every  other 


140  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

member  of  the  body,  you  are  in  a  position  to  say, 
"Blessed  Holy  Ghost,  I  receive  Thee  now."  As  you 
receive  Him  in  faith,  right  then  and  there  the  golden 
oil  will  flow  down  upon  you,  rilling  spirit,  soul  and 
body.  Your  body,  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  will 
be  permeated  with  this  oil.  It  is  a  wonderful  thing 
to  be  so  filled  that  even  your  lips  and  tongue  are  not 
your  own  any  more;  and  your  tongue  is  made 
"glad"  (see  Acts  2:26).  Some  people  hold  on  to 
their  own  reasonings  so  that  they  will  not  let  them- 
selves go  fully  into  the  life  and  mind  of  Christ.  If 
you  will  take  the  mind  of  Christ,  and  fall  into  His 
arms,  He  will  baptize  you  in  His  Spirit. 

I  feel  a  burden  upon  my  heart  for  people  who  have 
had  so  much  light  and  yet  are  not  receiving  the 
Holy  Ghost.  I  have  seen  such  people  in  meetings, 
and  here  in  our  own  Home.  I  am  not  talking  now 
about  those  who  oppose;  I  am  talking  about  those 
who  really  admire  the  beautiful  work  of  God  in  His 
Pentecostal  fulness,  and  who  are  able  to  discern  be- 
tween the  work  of  God  and  the  counterfeit;  and  they 
are  even  willing  to  bear  the  reproach  of  "tongues,"  for 
they  see  it  in  the  Word  of  God ;  but  they  simply  neglect 
to  press  through  and  receive  this  Pentecostal  Baptism 
for  themselves.  We  read  in  Isa.  28:11,  "For  with 
stammering  lips  and  another  tongue  will  HE  speak 
to  this  people/'  The  next  verse  says,  "This  is  the 
rest  wherewith  ye  may  cause  the  weary  to  rest;  and 
this  is  the  refreshing:  yet  they  would  not  hear."  It  is 
the  fulness  of  the  blessed  Spirit  finding  this  Divine 
outlet  in  the  new  tongues  that  is  the  "refreshing."  I 
want  to  testify  here  that  when  the  Holy  Spirit  speaks 
or  sings  through  me  even  for  an  hour  or  more  at  a 
time,  and  it  might  seem  to  people  that  I  would  be 
weary,  that  instead  of  being  weary,  I  feel  as  though 
I  had  had  the  mountain  streams  of  Lebanon  with  their 
cool  flowing  waters  refreshing  me,  until  my  whole 
physical  being  is  renewed  by  Divine  life.  So  if  we 
have  to  bear  reproach  for  believing  this  part  of  God's 
Word,  we  are  amply  repaid  by  enjoying  extra  portions 
of  the  new  wine  of  the  Kingdom.  I  was  speaking  of 


THE   PROMISE  OF  THE  FATHER  141 

those  people  who  have  no  controversy  and  who  are 
willing  to  pay  the  price,  but  they  are  not  enough  in 
earnest;  they  say  that  they  have  been  greatly  blessed 
and  they  keep  on  "getting  blessed,"  but  they  are  not 
in  earnest  to  press  on  and  receive  until  the  vessel  is 
FILLED  with  oil.  The  Word  shows  that  the  five 
foolish  and  the  five  wise  virgins  were  alike  with  one 
exception ;  all  were  clean  and  pure ;  all  had  lamps 
and  had  some  oil ;  all  heard  the  cry  of  the  Bridegroom ; 
all  arose  and  trimmed  their  wicks ;  all  went  forth  to 
meet  the  Bridegroom.  We  see  a  lot  of  trimming 
of  wicks  now  by  Christians  in  all  denominations. 
But  you  read  of  five  of  these  virgins  that  their  lamps 
were  going  out ;  their  supply  of  oil  was  giving  out,  and 
you  know  that  was  the  only  difference;  the  other 
five  had  an  extra  supply  of  oil  in  their  vessels  with 
their  lamps.  The  others  thought  they  were  ready  be- 
cause they  had  some  oil  in  their  lamps,  and  had 
trimmed  their  wicks;  they  thought  that  was  all  that 
was  necessary;  but  suddenly  they  realized  that  they 
did  not  have  enough  oil  with  them  and  they  tried  to 
borrow  but  the  wise  could  not  lend  any.  They  realized 
their  need  at  the  last  moment  when  it  was  too  late. 
Now,  our  body  is  spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament 
in  such  a  way  that  I  believe  it  is  the  "vessel,"  and  I 
believe  that  we  have  to  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit 
so  that  the  body  as  well  as  the  soul  is  filled  with 
the  quickening  power  of  God  (see  Romans  8:11). 
Our  bodies  must  be  holy  and  separated  from  the  lusts 
of  earth;  separated  from  merely  natural  appetites  so 
that  we  do  not  long  to  go  down  into  Egypt  for  earthly 
pleasure.  When  filled  with  the  Spirit  it  is  the  Heavenly 
manna  on  which  you  live  day  by  day  and  you  never 
tire  of  it;  you  are  satisfied  with  the  bread  of  Heaven. 
When  your  body  gets  full  of  the  oil  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  your  lips  and  tongue  get  filled  also,  and  the 
new  tongues  drop  off  your  lips  like  honey;  you  will 
be  distinctly  conscious  that  it  is  the  Heavenly  Dove 
who  is  speaking  through  you  in  other  tongues  and 
you  will  be  filled  with  such  joy  and  praise  that  you 
would  not  know  how  to  find  expression  for  it  in  any 


1 42  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

other  way.  Those  of  us  through  whom  the  Holy 
Spirit  speaks  in  new  tongues  can  imagine  a  little 
what  songs  of  praise  will  go  forth  from  those  who 
rise  to  meet  the  Lord ;  such  Heavenly  melodies  as 
were  never  heard  before,  when  the  Bride  rises  with 
songs  of  rejoicing  to  meet  her  Bridegroom.  As  I 
said  before  I  have  a  burden  for  those  who  have  as- 
sented to  all  this  and  yet  are  careless  and  indifferent. 

Those  five  virgins  were  careless  and  indifferent 
because  they  were  laboring  under  the  false  impression 
that  they  were  ready.  God  the  Holy  Ghost  is  speaking 
to  some  here  through  this  message,  and  if  you  do  not 
get  to  the  place  of  deep  enough  longing  to  be  in- 
tensely in  earnest  to  receive  this  extra  supply  of  oil, 
I  do  not  like  to  say  so,  but  it  does  seem  from  the 
Scriptures  that  you  would  be  one  of  the  foolish  virgins. 
Jesus  said,  "Tarry  until/'  and  if  you  get  thirsty  enough 
you  would  rather  tarry  than  eat  or  sleep.  Jesus  said, 
"//  any  man  thirst  let  him  come  unto  Me  and  drink!' 
You  ask  God  to  put  that  thirst  upon  you  until  you 
will  not  want  to  eat  or  sleep  or  do  anything  else  until 
you  are  satisfied.  You  will  want  to  leave  all  your 
duties  and  "tarry  until"  you  know  how  to  drink. 
I  asked  Him  to  teach  me  how  to  drink.  I  came  to 
Jesus  because  He  is  the  One  who  baptizes  with  the 
Holy  Ghost.  I  said,  "Even  a  baby  knows  how  to 
drink  but  Thou  wilt  have  to  teach  me  how  to  drink 
Thy  fulness,"  and  He  showed  me  how  to  drink. 
He  would  not  tell  us  to  drink  unless  He  would  show 
us  how,  and  I  have  been  drinking  ever  since.  Some 
people  think  they  receive  enough  for  time  and  for 
eternity,  and  they  stop  drinking.  But  after. receiving 
the  baptism  there  must  be  a  continuous  act  of  faith, 
always  drinking  of  Christ  in  order  to  keep  filled. 

Just  a  few  words  from  the  igth  of  Acts  before  we 
close.  In  the  2nd  verse  we  read  that  Paul  said, 
"Have  ye  received  the  Holy  Ghost  since  ye  believed  ?" 
Let  me  ask  every  one  of  you,  "Have  ye  received  the 
Holy  Ghost  since  ye  believed?"  You  can  not  have 
their  excuse  for  they  had  not  heard  that  there  was  a 
Holy  Ghost.  And  we  read  in  the  6th  verse  that  when 


THE   PROMISE  OF  THE  FATHER  143 

Paul  laid  his  hands  on  them  they  spoke  with  tongues 
and  prophesied,  and  further  on  how  God  wrought 
special  miracles  by  the  hand  of  Paul,  and  through 
handkerchiefs  and  aprons  taken  from  his  body,  dis- 
eases were  healed  and  evil  spirits  went  out  of  people. 
There  are  so  many  devils  in  these  days;  they  come 
sometimes  as  an  angel  of  light  which  is  more  terrible 
because  people  do  not  detect  them.  In  order  to  know 
which  is  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  which  is  the  devil 
as  an  angel  of  light,  we  must  have  the  discernment  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  There  is  a  gift  of  discernment  which 
is  wonderful,  but  there  is  also  a  discerning  which  God 
gives  to  every  child  of  His  as  they  go  on  with  Him; 
and  when  you  have  this  you  will  not  get  into  anything 
that  is  wrong,  but  will  know  how  to  stand  against 
error,  and  will  know  also  how  to  deliver  God's  little 
sheep  that  are  getting  into  crooked  paths. 

When  you  have  the  full  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
you  are  satisfied.  You  will  not  need  any  human 
being  to  tell  you  that  you  are  filled.  His  blessed 
Presence  will  permeate  your  whole  being,  and  you 
will  continually  feast  upon  Christ  in  adoring  love, 
as  the  sweet  Comforter  continually  takes  of  the  things 
of  Christ  and  reveals  them  unto  you.  Beloved,  Jesus 
is  coming  soon;  be  sure  that  your  vessel,  as  well  as 
your  lamp,  is  FILLED  with  oil. 


144  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
Separated  Unto  God. 

This  little  message  today  grows  out  of  one  that 
the  Lord  gave  me  personally  when  I  was  reading 
the  Bible  this  morning  to  my  dear  husband,  and  we 
were  feasting  on  the  Word.  When  we  wait  long 
enough  for  God  to  feed  our  own  hearts,  then  we  will 
have  something  to  pass  on  to  others. 

In  the  Thirty-third  chapter  of  Exodus  we  read 
of  Moses,  when  he  was  having  a  very  trying  exper- 
ience in  regard  to  the  children  of  Israel.  They  had 
been  a  great  burden  to  him,  and  had  sinned  so  griev- 
ously that  God  had  said  He  would  cast  them  out  of 
His  sight,  and  would  make  a  great  nation  of  Moses. 
(Ex.  32:10).  But  Moses  interceded  for  them,  and 
said,  (Ex.  33:12,  13)  "Thou  hast  not  let  me  know 
whom  Thou  wilt  send  with  me.  Yet  Thou  hast  said, 
I  know  thee  by  name,  and  thou  hast  also  found  grace 
in  My  sight.  Now  therefore  I  pray  Thee,  if  I  have 
found  grace  in  Thy  sight,  show  me  Thy  way,  that 
I  may  know  Thee,  that  I  may  find  grace  in  Thy  sight ; 
and  consider  that  this  nation  is  Thy  people."  And 
the  Lord  answered,  "My  presence  shall  go  with  thee, 
and  I  will  give  thee  rest."  Notice  Moses'  prayer, 
"Show  me  now  Thy  way,  that  I  may  knoiv  Thee." 
He  wanted  to  know  the  way  of  the  Lord,  and  to  know 
Him  in  all  His  glorious  fullness.  I  find  many  precious 
people  who  pray  like  this.  They  have  given  up  their 
own  way ;  they  want  the  Lord's  way,  and  they  want 
a  deep  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  Lord.  The 
Lord's  gracious  answer  was,  "MY  PRESENCE 
SHALL  GO  WITH  THEE  AND  I  WILL  GIVE 
THEE  REST."  When  we  have  the  Lord's  presence 
continually  with  us,  we  have  perfect  rest  in  Him,  no 
matter  what  the  tumult  may  be  around  us. 

After  that,    (Verse  eighteen)    Moses   prayed   an- 


SEPARATED   UNTO   GOD  145 

other  prayer:  uAnd  he  said,  I  beseech  Thee,  show 
me  Thy  glory."  You  can  see  in  this  lesson  how  the 
Lord  wants  us  to  press  on  further  in  our  experience. 
After  we  know  His  way,  then  we  must  go  on  to  know 
His  continual  presence,  and  still  further  on  to  know 
His  glory.  Moses  had  said  (sixteenth  verse)  for 
wherein  shall  it  be  known  here  that  I  and  Thy  people 
have  found  grace  in  Thy  sight?  Is  it  not  in  that 
Thou  goest  with  us?  SO  shall  we  be  separated,  I 
and  Thy  people,  from  all  the  people  that  are  on  the 
face  of  the  earth/'  What  was  to  separate  them 
from  the  Nations  about  them,  and  from  the  vanities 
of  the  heathen?  THE  PRESENCE  OF  THE  LORD. 
Moses  said  that  God's  presence  would  separate  them 
from  all  the  people  in  the  world.  Beloved,  when  you 
get  enough  of  His  presence  you  will  find  that  you  are 
separated  from  the  people  of  "the  world ;  you  will  have 
no  trouble  to  separate  yourself  from  them,  for  they 
will  separate  themselves  from  you,  and  until  you  get 
where  you  can  praise  Him  for  that  separation,  you 
are  not  in  the  place  spiritually  that  you  ought  to  be. 
When  you  can  rejoice  in  the  reproach  of  Christ  and 
realize  as  Moses  did,  that  it  is  greater  riches  than 
the  treasures  in  Egypt  (Heb.  n  126)  then  you  will  go 
right  on  with  the  Lord,  and  you  and  He  will  walk 
close  together.  Years  ago,  when  the  Lord  was  teach- 
ing me  this  lesson,  I  noticed  that  some  worldly  people 
treated  me  very  coldly,  and  I  said  to  the  Lord,  "I  do 
not  know  why  these  people  treat  me  so  coldly;  I  have 
done  nothing  to  offend  them."  The  Lord  answered, 
"It  is  not  what  they  have  against  you;  it  is  what 
they  have  against  Me.  And  when  My  presence  is  in 
you  and  with  you,  the  same  world  that  crucified  Me 
will  not  want  to  have  anything  to  do  with  you." 

This  lesson  leads  us  to  Divine  Healing  for  the 
body,  for  the  fulness  of  the  Lord's  presence  will  give 
you  not  only  Divine  Healing,  but  also  Divine  health. 
His  presence,  and  continual  obedience  to  Him,  will 
bring  you  life  more  abundant.  Then  you  will  realize 
that  you  are  indeed  fllesh  of  His  flesh,  and  bone  of 
His  bone,  for  the  life  of  the  God-Man  up  in  the  glory 


146  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

will  flow  into  your  whole  being.  The  Lord  Jesus 
said,  "I  am  come  that  they  might  have  life  and  that 
they  might  have  it  more  abundantly/' 

Note  again  Moses'  prayer  in  verse  18,  "I  beseech 
Thee,  SHOW  ME  THY  GLORY".  Beloved,  I  would 
that  we  all  might  begin  to  offer  that  prayer.  After 
we  have  yielded  fully  to  His  way,  we  must  press  on  to 
know  His  presence  and  His  glory ;  and  then  we  shall 
feel  that  truly  Heaven  has  come  down  to  earth.  "And 
the  Lord  said,  Behold,  there  is  a  place  by  Me,  and 
thou  shalt  stand  upon  a  rock :  and  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
while  My  glory  passeth  by,  that  I  will  put  thee  in  a 
clift  of  the  rock,  and  will  cover  thee  with  My  hand 
while  I  pass  by."  The  Lord  had  also  said  to  Moses, 
in  answer  to  his  prayer,  "I  will  make  all  My  goodness 
pass  before  thee,  and  I  will  proclaim  the  Name  of  the 
Lord  before  thee ;  and  will  be  gracious  to  whom  I  will 
be  gracious,  and  will  show  mercy  on  whom  I  will  show 
mercy."  Let  us  notice  where  God  hid  Moses  when  He 
showed  him  all  His  goodness:  "There  is  a  PLACE 
by  Me",  and  then  he  put  him  in  a  cleft  of  the  rock 
while  he  proclaimed  the  marvellous  character  of  the 
Lord.  What  a  beautiful  type  of  the  cleft  Rock  of 
Ages,  the  crucified  Son  of  God !  As  we  hide  away  by 
faith  in  His  wounded  side,  which  was  rent  for  us,  God 
will  be  able  to  show  us  His  glory. 

In  II  Cor.  4:10,  we  read,  "For  God,  who  com- 
manded the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  hath 
shined  in  our  hearts,  to  give  the  light  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ". 
Hidden  away  in  Christ,  the  blessed  Holy  Ghost  reveals 
to  us  more  and  yet  more  of  the  goodness  and  glory  of 
God,  and  the  power  of  the  Name  of  Jesus.  "Thou  shalt 
call  His  Name  Jesus,  for  He  shall  save  His  people  from 
their  sins".  "Wherefore  God  also  hath  highly  ex- 
alted Him,  and  given  Him  a  Name  which  is  above 
every  Name :  that  at  the  Name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should  bow,  of  things  in  Heaven,  and  things  in  earth, 
and  things  under  the  earth;  and  that  every  tongue 
should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of 
God  the  Father."  Notice  that  even  in  this  marvellous 


SEPARATED   UNTO   GOD  147 

exaltation  of  the  Name  of  the  Son,  it  is  "TO  THE 
GLORY  OF  GOD  THE  FATHER".  How  wonder- 
ful is  the  unity  of  the  three  Persons  of  the  blessed 
Trinity,  and  yet  how  clearly  shown  forth  is  the  separ- 
ate Personality  of  each !  This  is  a  great  and  glorious 
mystery  revealed  only  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

In  Ex.  34:5,  6,  7,  we  read  of  that  marvellous  rev- 
elation to  Moses  of  the  Lord's  goodness  and  .glory 
(and  is  it  not  shown  forth  in  the  Word  that  His 
mercy  is  His  glory?).  "And  the  Lord  descended  in 
the  cloud,  and  stood  with  him  there,  and  PRO- 
CLAIMED THE  NAME  OF  THE  LORD.  And 
the  Lord  passed  by  before  him;,  and  proclaimed,  The 
Lord,  The  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long- 
suffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping 
mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity  and  trans- 
gression and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means  clear  the 
guilty".  The  same  goodness  that  pardons  sin  for 
Christ's  sake,  will  not  clear  the  guilty  one  unless  he 
believes  that  God  has  laid  his  sins  upon  Jesus,  the 
spotless  Lamb  of  God.  How  this  shows  the  fallacy 
of  such  systems  of  healing  as  deny  that  there  is  sin, 
and  the  need  of  an  Atoning  Saviour.  The  Word  speaks 
of  the  perilous  last  times,  and  the  "false  teachers," 
and  the  "damnable  heresies"  when  people  will  "even 
deny  the  Lord  that  bought  them."  And  it  is  added, 
"Many  shall  follow  their  pernicious  ways;  by  reason 
of  whom  the  way  of  truth  shall  be  evil  spoken  of". 
(II  Peter  2:1,  2).  Oh,  beloved,  let  us  be  faithful  in 
telling  people  of  the  Atoning  Saviour  and  Healer,  that 
they  may  not  be  led  aside  by  the  many  false  teachers 
of  the  day.  Will  not  their  blood  be  upon  us  if  we 
fail  to  do  this  ? 

As  we  pass  on  further  in  Ex.  34,  we  see  that  God 
gives  a  solemn  warning  to  make  no  covenant  with  the 
inhabitants  of  the  land  whither  they  are  going.  Moses 
was  commanded  to  destroy  their  altars,  break  their 
images,  cut  down  their  groves ;  "For  thou  shalt  wor- 
ship no  other  god:  for  the  Lord,  whose  Name  is 
Jealous,  is  a  jealous  God."  (verse  14).  Here  is  an- 
other characteristic  of  His  Name  revealed,  "WHOSE 


148  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

NAME  IS  JEALOUS/'  He  solemnly  warns  them 
not  to  make  any  covenant  with  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land,  lest  there  should  be  inter-marriage  with  their 
children,  and  they  should  "make  thy  sons  go  a  whoring 
after  other  gods/'  Alas,  what  lack  of  consecration 
and  Bible  teaching  there  has  been  among  Christian 
parents,  so  that  the  children  today  of  many  have  been 
enticed  to  go  after  the  gods  of  this  world.  Many 
such  parents  will  have  to  humble  themselves  in  deep 
repentance  before  God,  before  their  prayers  can  be 
heard  for  the  salvation  of  their  children.  But  God  is 
merciful  and  will  hear  such  cries  when  there  is  the 
required  humiliation  and  repentance. 

Let  us  emphasize  the  fact  that  while  we  remember 
the  goodness  and  longsuffering  of  the  Lord,  which 
makes  Him  so  willing  to  forgive  our  sins  and  heal 
our  bodies,  we  must  remember  this  part  of  His  char- 
acter, "WHOSE  NAME  IS  JEALOUS".  When 
the  God  of  infinite  Love  shows  us  the  real  meaning 
of  these  words,  shall  not  our  hearts  cry  out,  in  loving 
adoration,  "O  Thou  blessed  Lover  of  my  soul,  whose 
Name  is  jealous,  Thou  shalt  have  all  my  life,  and  all 
my  being" !  And  there  will  be  a  wonderful  response 
from  that  holy,  jealous  God,  who  so  loves  us  that  He 
cannot  let  any  one  or  anything  come  in  between,  and 
separate  us  in  the  least  degree  from  His  love.  In  II 
Cor.  6:17,  we  read  another  call  to  this  separation, 
"Wherefore  COME  OUT  from  among  them,  and  BE 
YE  SEPARATE,  saith  the  Lord,  and  TOUCH  NOT 
the  unclean  thing ;  and  /  will  receive  you,  and  will  be 
a  Father  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  My  sons  and  daugh- 
ters, saith  the  Lord  Almighty/' 

Beloved,  I  believe  that  God  wants  you  to  live  such 
a  life  that  your  children  shall  see  what  a  jealous  God 
is  yours.  As  you  allow  that  jealous  God  to  completely 
separate  you  from  the  world,  and  the  things  of  the 
world,  I  believe  that  God  will  give  you  an  overcoming 
faith  for  your  sons  and  daughters,  that  they  too  may 
be  delivered  from  the  deadly  fascination  of  the  world, 
which  is  luring  them  on  to  destruction.  Your  faith 
may  be  tested,  but  as  you  continue  to  trust  God,  He 


SEPARATED  UNTO   GOD  149 

will  answer  to  your  faith.  If  you  are  living  examples 
of  what  God  calls  you  to  be,  you  can  trust  that  blessed 
One,  whose  Klame  is  Jealous,  to  put  a  dividing  line, 
— even  His  own  Presence, — between  you  and  the 
world,  and  between  your  children  and  the  world. 

We  cannot  disobey  God,  and  have  His  blessing 
rest  upon  us.  So  great  is  His  displeasure  against 
the  spirit  of  anti-christ,  which  is  filling  the  world 
today  (even  before  the  personal  anti-christ  is  re- 
vealed) that  He  solemnly  warns  us  against  those  "who 
confess  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh", 
that  we  shall  not  even  receive  such  into  our  house,  or 
bid  them  God  speed.  (2  John  10).  I  believe  that 
this  means  the  receiving  them  into  our  family  in  any 
intimacy  or  fellowship.  When  we  find  them  willing  to 
listen  to  the  truth,  as  it  is-  in  Christ  Jesus,  we  are 
of  course  permitted  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  them, 
even  as  we  would  to  others.  Some  of  the  Lord's  own 
little  sheep  have  wandered  away  in  forbidden  fields, 
ofttimes  because  God's  under-shepherds  have  not  been 
faithful  to  teach  and  to  warn  them,  but  Christ,  the 
Great  Shepherd,  will  seek  after  all  that  are  true  in 
heart,  and  will  bring  them  back. 

Finally,  let  us  notice  the  solemn  words  in  Jas. 
4:4,5,  "Whosoever  will  be  a  friend  of  the  world  is 
the  enemy  of  God.  Do  ye  think  that  the  Scripture 
saith  in  vain,  The  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  us  lusteth 
to  envy?"  This  last  expression  may  be  translated, 
"The  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  us  LOVETH  TO  JEAL- 
OUSY". Oh,  that  blessed,  jealous,  indwelling  Spirit 
of  God !  How  these  tender  words  reveal  the  Divine 
love  that  cannot  be  satisfied  unless  He  possesses  us 
completely.  May  you  realize  His  mighty  love  today, 
and  so  yield  your  spirit,  soul  and  body  to  His  blessed 
control,  that  His  life  will  revive,  and  heal,  and  flow 
through  you  continually,  and  you  will  know  what  it 
is  to  run  and  not  be  weary,  to  walk  and  not  to  faint, 
and  to  mount  up  with  wings  in  the  resurrection  life 
of  the  Son  of  God. 


150  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
A  Message  for  God's  Tried  Ones. 

If  the  tried  saints  of  God  could  only  know  what  was 
going  on  in  the  Heavenlies,  while  they  are  having  such 
severe  conflicts  on  earth,  they  would  surely  take  heart 
and  not  allow  themselves  to  be  cast  down.  If  these 
dear  saints  were  dwelling  more  deeply  in  the  Word 
of  God,  they  would  often  see  the  curtain  lifted,  and 
view  by  faith  the  victories  which  are  already  theirs 
in  the  Heavens. 

God  does  not  want  His  little  ones  to  faint  when 
they  are  tried,  and  our  blessed  Lord  spake  a  parable 
especially  for  those  who  might  be  in  danger  of  faint- 
ing. "He  spake  a  parable  to  THIS  END,  that  men 
ought  always  to  pray,  and  NOT  TO  FAINT."  (Luke 
18:1.) 

This  parable  of  the  importunate  widow  illustrates 
continuous,  persistent  prayer,  which  never  thinks  of 
taking  a  denial.  Even  the  unjust  judge  who  feared  not 
God,  neither  regarded  man,  gave  way  to .  this  kind 
of  pleading,  and  the  argument  is  that  if  this  be  true 
of  the  unjust  judge,  how  much  more  will  God,  the 
just  Judge,  avenge  His  own  elect  which  cry  unto 
Him  day  and  night.  The  words  are  added,  "though 
He  bear  long  with  them,"  showing  the  reason  for  His 
delay;  He  must  bear  with  them  in  their  unbelief  and 
lack  of  pliability,  until  His  refining  processes  get.  them 
ready  for  the  answer  to  their  prayers. 

There  are  two  passages  in  the  Old  Testament  which 
clearly  show  forth  what  is  going  on  in  the  Hea- 
venlies, while  God's  little  ones  are  crying  to  Him 
on  earth.  Let  us  look  prayerfully  at  these  pas- 
sages, trusting  the  Lord  to  make  them  full  of 
cheer  to  any  tried  saints  who  may  read  these  lines. 
In  the  loth  chapter  of  Daniel  we  see  the  prophet 
"mourning  three  full  weeks,"  eating  no  pleasant  bread, 


A  MESSAGE  FOR  GOD'S  TRIED  ONES          151 

and  not  anointing  himself  during  this  whole  period  of 
humiliation.  In  the  prayer  of  the  preceeding  chapter 
he  seems  to  have  had  a  much  more  speedy  answer, 
for  he  says,  "Whiles  I  was  speaking  in  prayer,  even  the 
man  Gabriel,  being  caused  to  fly  swiftly  touched  me 
....  and  he  informed  me,  and  talked  with  me  and 
said  ....  at  the  beginning  of  thy  supplication,  the 
commandment  came  forth,  and  I  am  come  to  show 
thee,"  etc.  In  the  loth  chapter  we  see  no  such  speedy 
manifested  answer,  but  a  prolonged  period  of  mourn- 
ing. The  prophet  was  about  to  receive  new  and  fuller 
revelations  of  God's  truth,  and  the  preparation  for 
this  seems  to  be  this  prolonged  trial  of  faith  when 
no  answer  apparently  came  from  Heaven. 

But  what  is  the  other  side  of  this  picture?  Note 
the  I2th  verse  of  Daniel  10.  The  glorious  Being 
described  in  verses  4,  5  and  6  of  this  same  chapter, 
speaks  thus  to  him,  "Fear  not,  Daniel,  for  from  the 
FIRST  DAY  THAT  THOU  DIDST  SET  THINE 
HEART  TO  UNDERSTAND  AND  TO  CHASTEN 
THYSELF  BEFORE  THY  GOD,  THY  WORDS 
WERE  HEARD  and  I  am  come  for  thy  words/' 
Then  follows  the  remarkable  statement,  that  this 
mighty  Being  (so  glorious  that  Daniel  had  lost  all 
strength  in  his  presence)  had  been  detained  on  his 
way  to  Daniel,  having  been  withstood  by  the  prince  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Persia  twenty-one  days  (the  same 
length  of  time  as  Daniel's  supplications)  and  had  been 
helped  by  Michael,  "one  of  the  chief  princes."  How 
blessed  to  know  that  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  run  to  and 
fro  throughout  the  whole  earth  to  show  Himself 
strong  in  the  behalf  of  those  whose  hearts  are  per- 
fect toward  Him,  and  that  our  words  are  heard  even 
the  very  first  day  we  set  our  hearts  to  understand  and 
to  chasten  ourselves  before  God.  There  may  be  de- 
lays in  the  Heavenlies,  because  we  need  to  humble 
ourselves  more  and  more  before  the  Lord,  but  our 
glorious  Lord  is  on  His  way,  and  if  we  persevere  in 
prayer  He  will  surely  come  to  our  help  and  speak 
words  of  love  and  comfort  and  strength  as  He  did 
to  Daniel.  And  not  only  did  he  talk  with  him  but  he 


152  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

also  "touched"  Daniel  and  strengthened  him.  If  we 
stop  our  petitions  before  we  have  "prayed  through/' 
our  great  Deliverer  may  still  be  prevented  from  com- 
ing to  our  help.  For  He  has  so  environed  Himself 
as  to  need  our  humble  prayers,  wonderful  as  that  may 
seem. 

How  many  times  we  have  almost  broken  through 
in  prayer  and  the  enemy  has  tempted  us  to  faint,  and 
we  have  given  up  just  as  the  light  was  about  breaking. 
May  we  obey  His  commandment  to  add  to  our  faith, 
courage,  and  then  the  enemy  shall  not  have  power  to 
dishearten  us. 

The  1 8th  Psalm  also  gives  us  a  very  remarkable 
picture  of  what  goes  on  in  Heaven  when  God's  little 
ones  cry  to  Him,  but  this  time  it  is  not  only  what 
occurs  when  His  help  is  on  its  way  to  us,  but  also 
what  occurs  the  very  instant  our  cry  of  faith  reaches 
His  ear.  Read  the  Psalm  carefully,  as  we  shall  only 
refer  to  portions  of  it.  The  sad  state  of  the  one  who 
calls  upon  God  is  described,  "The  sorrows  of  death 
compassed  me,  and  the  floods  of  ungodly  men  made 
me  afraid ;  the  sorrows  of  hell  compassed  me/'  etc. 
Then  as  this  afflicted  one  cries  to  the  Lord  in  his 
distress,  he  says,  "MY  CRY  CAME  BEFORk  HIM, 
EVEN  INTO  HIS  EARS"  (verse  6).  This,  does 
not  mean  a  formal  prayer,  but  a  real  CRY  of  "dis- 
tress." Any  loving  mother  knows  how  a  real  cry  of 
distress  from  her  child  will  seem  to  penetrate  not  only 
her  ears,  but  'her  very  heart.  When  my  daughter 
was  a  little  child  I  heard  her  cry  out  so  sharply  that 
I  left  callers  in  the  parlor  without  a  word  of  apology, 
and  flew  up  two  flights  of  stairs  in  less  time  than  it 
takes  to  tell  it.  Great  was  my  relief  to  find  it  was  only 
a  cry  of  fear  and  dismay  because  she  had  accidentally 
swallowed  a  candy  marble  ( !).  But  that  cry  had  so 
entered  my  ears  and  my  soul  as  to  make  me  leave  the 
most  important  business  to  hasten  to  her  help.  And 
our  God  has  a  heart  more  tender  than  any  mother's 
heart,  and  as  one  whom  his  mother  comforteth  He 
has  promised  to  comfort  us. 

Look  again  at  the  Psalm.     What  occurred  when 


A  MESSAGE  FOR  GOD'S  TRIED  ONES          153 

the  cry  of  the  oppressed  one  entered  into  the  Lord's 
ears?  Read  it  all;  it  is  very  wonderful!  "THEN 
the  earth  shook;  the  foundations  also  of  the  hills 
moved  and  were  shaken  because  He  was  wroth  (God's 
holy  anger  against  our  enemies).  He  bowed  the 
Heavens  also  and  came  down.  He  rode  upon  a  cherub, 
and  did  fly ;  yea  He  did  fly  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind 
.  .  .  The  Lord  also  thundered  in  the  Heavens  .  .  .  He 
sent  out  His  arrows  and  scattered  them;  and  He 
shot  out  lightnings  and  discomfited  them  .  .  .  He  sent 
from  above,  He  took  me,  HE  DREW  ME  OUT  OF 
MANY  WATERS.  HE  DELIVERED  ME  from  my 
strong  enemy  .  .  .  He  brought  me  forth  into  a  large 
place;  He  delivered  me  because  He  DELIGHTED  IN 
ME."  And  why,  dear  soul,  does  He  delight  in  you  to 
such  an  extent?  Is  it  not 'because  you  are  in  His 
dear  Son,  Jesus  Christ  your  Saviour?  And  since  He 
has  given  Him  to  you  He  has  given  you  all  things 
freely  in  Him.  No  wonder  that  the  rest  of  the  Psalm 
is  so  full  of  triumphant  strains.  After  experiencing 
such  love  and  such  deliverance,  the  Psalmist  could 
boast  in  his  God  and  say,  "As  for  God  His  way  is 
perfect ;  the  word  of  the  Lord  is  tried.  He  is  a  buck- 
ler to  all  those  that  trust  in  Him  ...  it  is  God  that 
girdeth  me  with  strength  and  maketh  my  way  perfect." 
(verses  30,  31). 

The  prophet  prayed  in  olden  time  that  God  would 
open  the  eyes  of  the  young  man  that  he  might  see; 
"and  the  Lord  opened  the  eyes  of  the  young  man; 
and  he  saw  and  behold  the  mountain  was  full  of 
horses  and  chariots  of  fire  round  about  Elisha"  (II 
Kings  6:17). 

How  blind  we  have  often  been,  beloved;  when  the 
Lord  was  marshalling  angelic  hosts  all  around  us 
we  have  seen  only  the  enemy.  God  longs  to  open 
our  eyes  that  we  may  see,  and  glorify  Him  for 
His  great  salvation.  But  we  shall  only  be  able  to  see 
as  we  feed  upon  God's  Word,  and  have  it  made  a 
living  reality  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And 


iS4  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

we  must  feed  upon  the  whole  Word  of  God  for  it  is 
written,  "Man  doth  not  live  by  bread  only,  but  by  every 
word  that  proceeded!  out  of  the  mouth  of  God  doth 
man  live."  (Deut.  8:3). 


THE   SIN  OF  UNBELIEF  155 


CHAPTER  XXV. 
The  Sin  of  Unbelief . 

We  will  turn  to  the  78th  Psalm,  to  which  the 
Lord  especially  called  my  attention  last  evening,  and 
also  this  morning.  A  part  of  this  Psalm  caused  me 
to  think  of  other  texts,  which  we  will  take  up  a  little 
later.  The  subject  of  this  Bible  study  is  the  sin  of 
unbelief.  A  great  many  people  think  they  never  sin, 
because  they  do  not  lie  or  steal  or  do  something  con- 
sidered dreadful,  but  perhaps  there  is  no  greater  sin 
that  one  can  commit  than  the  sin  of  unbelief,  because 
it  is  the  foundation  of  every  other  sin.  Let  us  notice 
what  God  says  about  unbelief.  In  the  78th  Psalm  we 
read  of  the  way  in  which  the  children  of  Israel  dis- 
obeyed God  and  turned  away  from  His  command- 
ments, and  in  the  8th  verse  they  are  called  "a  stubborn 
and  rebellious  generation;  a  generation  that  set  not 
their  heart  aright,  and  whose  spirit  was  not  stead- 
fast with  God/5  We  read  also  in  this  Psalm  of  God's 
great  mercy  to  them,  and  of  the  marvelous  things 
that  He  did.  The  I3th  verse  says,  "He  divided  the 
sea  and  caused  them  to  pass  through;  and  He  made 
the  waters  to  stand  as  an  heap."  In  the  I4th  verse  it 
speaks  of  His  wonderful  guidance  by  the  cloud  in  the 
day  time,  and  by  the  pillar  of  fire  at  night.  Every 
night  if  they  wakened  and  looked  out  of  their  tent  door, 
there  they  could  see  God's  presence  manifested  in  that 
pillar  of  fire,  resting  on  the  tabernacle.  When  the 
cloud  lifted  and  moved  they  were  to  move  on,  and 
when  it  tarried,  whether  it  was  a  month,  a  day,  or 
a  year,  they  tarried.  They  had  that  marvelous  guid- 
ence  in  the  old  dispensation  under  the  law,  and  yet 
we  read  that  the  glory  of  that  time  is  nothing  to  the 
more  excellent  glory  which  we  now  have,  the  glory 
of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  has  given 
His  promise  to  guide  us  continually  and  if  we  will 


156  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

believe  Him  we  shall  have  clearer  guidance  than 
they  had,  for  we  may  hear  the  voice  of  Jesus  our 
Shepherd  and  follow  Him.  We  read  further  on,  how 
God  brought  streams  out  of  the  rock  and  they  ran 
down  like  rivers,  but  it  is  recorded  in  verses  17  to  22, 
"They  sinned  yet  more  against  Him  by  provoking  the 
Most  High  in  the  wilderness,  and  they  tempted  God 
in  their  heart  by  asking  meat  for  their  lust.  Yea, 
they  spake  against  God ;  they  said,  can  God  furnish  a 
table  in  the  wilderness?  Behold,  He  smote  the  rock, 
that  the  waters  gushed  out  and  the  streams  over- 
flowed; can  He  give  bread  also?  Can  He  provide 
flesh  for  His  people?  Therefore  the  Lord  heard  this 
and  was  wroth:  so  a  fire  was  kindled  against  Jacob 
and  anger  also  came  up  against  Israel,  because  they 
believed  not  in  God,  and  trusted  not  in  His  salvation." 
In  this  Psalm  we  also  read  that  they  "limited  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel."  Oh,  the  awful  sin  of  un- 
belief which  limits  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  when  God 
has  told  us  that  whatsoever  we  ask  in  Jesus'  name, 
believing,  we  shall  receive,  and  also  that  if  we  abide 
in  Him,  and  His  words  abide  in  us,  we  may  ask 
what  we  will  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  us. 

"They  spake  against  God."  Our  thought  of  people 
speaking  against  God  would  be  in  some  such  way  as 
taking  His  name  in  vain,  or  speaking  in  a  rebellious 
spirit  against  Him,  but  here  the  very  thought  of 
unbelief,  and  the  words  of  unbelief  are  said  to  be 
speaking  against  God.  Undoubtedly  there  was  a 
hidden  cause  for  their  unbelief  and  there  is  a  cause 
always  for  our  unbelief.  Unbelief,  so  to  sp^ak,  is 
only  a  symptom  of  something  wrong  in  the  heart,  so 
their  unbelief  came  from  something  wrong  in  their 
hearts.  "They  tempted  God  by  asking  meat  for  their 
lust."  God  had  given  them  the  manna,  He  had  rained 
down  from  heaven  the  angels'  food,  which  was  a 
type  of  Jesus,  but  so  little  did  they  care  for  the 
bread  of  heaven  that  they  said,  "Our  soul  loatheth  this 
light  bread,"  (Num.  21:5)  and  they  .hungered  for 
the  flesh  pots  of  Egypt  and  even  wanted  to  make  a 
captain  over  them  to  return  to  the  land  of  bondage. 


THE  SIN  OF  UNBELIEF  157 

This  lust  represents  fleshly  desires;  that  in  us  which 
wants  something  else  beside  spiritual  food.  If  we 
are  wholly  given  up  to  God,  how  happy  and  satisfied 
we  are  with  Him;  how  rejoiced  we  are  to  get  a  little 
time  alone  with  our  Beloved,  the  Bridegroom  of  our 
soul.  An  hour  or  two  with  Him  passes  so  quickly 
that  the  time  seems  only  like  a  few  moments.  We 
are  so  delighted  with  Him  that  we  do  not  want  any- 
thing else  to  satisfy  us.  Then  we  can  say,  "My  Be- 
loved has  gone  down  into  His  garden  ...  to  feed  in 
the  gardens."  Our  soul  is  His  garden,  and  within 
are  the  fruits  of  His  own  goodness  and  righteousness. 
The  Bride  says,  "At  our  gates  are  all  manner  of 
pleasant  fruits  .  .  .  which  I  have  laid  up  for  Thee,  O 
my  Beloved/'  (Song  of  Sol.  7:13).  The  fruits  of 
the  Spirit  are  of  Him,  and  for  His  use,  and  His  glory. 

When  people  begin  to  backslide,  and  fail  to  go 
on  with  God,  then  they  turn  back  to  the  world,  and 
tempt  God  in  asking  for  something  to  satisfy 
their  carnal  desires.  God  Himself  does  not  sat- 
isfy them,  and  they  cannot  say  that  He  is  enough, 
and  be  content  in  His  blessed  presence.  God  says, 
"Come  out  from  among  them  and  be  ye  separate  and 
touch  not  the  unclean  thing."  The  unclean  thing  is 
the  world,  and  all  connected  with  it.  "If  any  man 
love  the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him." 
God  wants  us  to  be  so  separated  from  the  world  that 
we  shall  not  even  touch  it,  and  if  we  obey  Him  in  this, 
He  says  that  He  will  receive  us,  and  be  a  Father  unto 
us,  and  we  shall  be  His  sons  and  daughters.  It  must 
be  a  life  of  full  consecration,  a  life  of  absolute  sep- 
aration unto  Him,  and  then  you  will  not  be  disap- 
pointed in  Him,  and  you  will  find  Him  all  in  all  to  you. 

We  will  now  look  at  Hebrews  3:12.  We  see  from 
this  passage  what  an  "evil  heart"  is.  Naturally  we 
would  think  of  an  evil  heart  as  being  only  a  drunkard, 
or  a  murderer,  or  an  outbreaking  sinner.  Of  course 
such  an  one  has  an  evil  heart,  but  God  tells  us  here 
that  an  evil  heart  is  a  heart  of  unbelief,  a  heart  that 
departs  from  God:  'Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  there 
be  in  any  of  you  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  in  depart- 


158  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

ing  from  the  living  God."  This  passage  refers  to  the 
temptation  in  the  wilderness,  and  warns  God's  people 
today,  in  these  words,  "Today  if  ye  will  hear  His 
voice  harden  not  your  hearts,  as  in  the  provocation." 
Any  failure  to  obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord  tends  to 
harden  the  heart.  We  are  told  to  exhort  one  another 
daily,  while  it  is  called  today,  lest  any  of  us  should 
be  hardened  through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin.  Sin  is 
so  deceitful  that  we  cannot  trust  ourselves  to  know 
when  it  has  power  over  us,  but  we  must  let  the  blessed 
Holy  Spirit  search  us  through  and  through,  and  see 
if  anything  is  left  in  us  which  resists  His  blessed  and 
holy  will.  If  there  is  anything  He  will  reveal  it,  and 
show  us  how  to  repent,  and  have  the  sin  cleansed 
away  by  His  precious  blood.  If  He  finds  nothing,  He 
will  give  us  a  blessed  witness  of  His  acceptance 
through  the  blood  of  Christ.  We  must  lie  continually 
in  the  search  light  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Let  Him  fill 
you,  and  lead  you,  then  you  will  not  be  deceived  by  sin. 
In  verse  14  we  are  told  that  "we  are  made  par- 
takers of  Christ  if  we  hold  the  beginning  of  our  con- 
fidence stedfast  unto  the  end."  How  the  enemy  tries 
in  every  way  to  make  us  cast  away  our  confidence. 
For  instance  you  may  be  looking  to  the  Lord  for  the 
healing  of  your  body;  you  may  have  had  the  hands 
of  believers  laid  upon  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  (ac- 
cording to  Mark  i6;i7,  18)  or  you  may  have  been 
anointed  with  oil  by  the  elders  of  the  church  as  com- 
manded in  Jas.  5:14,  15.  You  may  not  feel  just  as 
you  thought  you  would,  or  see  what  you  expected  to 
see  after  "the  prayer  of  faith"  was  offered  for  you. 
What  then?  Will  you  draw  back,  and  let  go  of  the 
promises,  or  will  you  set  your  face  like  a  flint,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  and  hold  the  beginning  of  your  confi- 
dence stedfast  unto  the  end?  If  you  hold  fast  I  can 
assure  you  that  the  end  will  be  very  blessed.  The 
Word  tells  us  that  the  persecution  of  the  enemy  ariseth 
because  of  the  word.  The  more  you  step  out  on  God's 
promises,  and  the  more  fully  you  stand  on  that  word, 
the  more  the  enemy  will  persecute  you  for  a  time,  but 
as  you  hold  your  confidence  stedfast,  the  Spirit  of  the 


THE  SIN  OF  UNBELIEF  159 

Lord  will  lift  up  a  standard  against  the  enemy,  and 
you  will  find  yourself  more  than  conqueror  through 
Christ,  the  all-victorious  One.  We  read  in  the  para- 
*ble  of  the  sower  that  in  some  souls  the  seed  sprang 
up  quickly,  but  that  there  was  no  depth  of  earth,  and 
when  persecution  arose  because  of  the  word,  they 
were  immediately  offended.  It  is  blessed  to  endure 
and  not  to  be  offended  with  our  beloved  Lord,  nor 
with  His  dealings  with  us.  Dear  ones,  get  deeply 
rooted  in  the  word  of  God,  and  then  you  will  be  able 
to  stand  all  the  tests,  and  will  be  on  the  rock  founda- 
tion, so  that  no  storm  will  be  able  to  beat  down  your 
house.  "Great  peace  have  they  that  love  Thy  law, 
and  nothing  shall  offend  them."  If  you  are  trusting  the 
Lord  for  physical  healing  the  enemy  will  try  to  bring 
up  contradictory  symptoms,  but  stand  on  God's  faith- 
ful word,  and  do  not  allow  a  particle  of  discourage- 
ment, and  you  shall  receive  according  to  your  faith. 

While  we  are  reading  in  Hebrews,  we  will  look  at 
the  1 8th  and  iQth  verses  of  this  chapter,  "and  to  whom 
sware  He  that  they  should  not  enter  into  His  rest,  but 
to  them  that  believed  not?  so  we  see  that  they  could 
not  enter  in  because  of  unbelief."  Dear  ones,  put 
your  all  on  the  altar,  all  that  you  have  and  all  that  you 
are,  to  be  at  God's  disposal,  and  He  will  open  the 
windows  of  heaven  and  pour  out  such  a  blessing  that 
there  shall  not  be  room  to  receive  it.  (Mai.  3:10.) 
Did  you  ever  have  such  a  blessing  as  that?  What 
happens  then?  It  just  runs  over  on  to  other  people. 
If  you  go  to  the  faucet  and  put  a  little  empty  cup 
under  it  and  let  the  water  keep  running,  and  you  let 
the  cup  stay  in  the  same  position  under  the  faucet, 
you  will  see  that  it  will  soon  be  filled  and  then  will 
keep  running  over.  Keep  yourself  in  full  consecra- 
tion under  the  great  avalanche  of  the  blessing  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  what  will  happen?  You  will  have 
enough  for  yourself  and  everybody  around  you.  You 
will  have  the  love  of  God,  the  sweet  peace  of  God,  and 
the  faith  of  God,  and  you  will  not  feel  poverty  stricken 
when  people  come  to  you  for  help,  but  you  will  be 
able  to  say  as  Peter  said  to  the  impotent  man,  "Such 


160  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

as  I  have  give  I  unto  thee."  God  has  no  pet  children 
but  He  is  as  ready  to  give  to  you  as  to  anyone  else. 
Some  of  you  have  had  the  uncontainable  blessing  in 
the  past  but  do  not  have  it  today.  What  is  the  matter? 
You  did  not  keep  your  little  cup  in  the  same  position 
as  you  had  it  when  you  first  received  this  blessing. 
You  moved  out  of  that  position;  perhaps  you  found 
fault  with  some  of  God's  little  children,  or  complained 
or  murmured ;  any  of  these  things  would  get  your 
cup  out  of  the  position  of  blessing.  Ask  God  to  for- 
give you,  and  get  back  in  the  place  of  full  consecra- 
tion and  faith,  and  once  more  you  will  have  your  cup 
filled  and  running  over. 

Now  we  will  look  at  Matthew  17:19,  20.  We  read 
in  this  chapter  of  that  marvelous  Transfiguration 
scene,  and  after  Jesus  and  His  three  disciples  came 
down  from  the  Mount  of  glory,  they  were  met  by 
the  distressed  father  and  his  epileptic  boy,  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain.  The  Lord  cast  out  the  demons, 
and  delivered  the  boy.  The  disciples  had  tried  to 
cast  these  devils  out,  but  found  themselves  powerless 
to  do  so.  Afterwards  they  asked  Jesus  why  they 
could  not  cast  them  out,  and  He  replied,  "Because 
of  your  unbelief/'  Then  He  added,  "If  ye  have  faith 
as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  ye  shall  say  to  this  moun- 
tain, remove  hence  to  yonder  place,  and  nothing  shall 
be  impossible  unto  you."  How  wonderful  it  is  that 
if  we  have  one  little  grain  of  living  faith,  nothing 
shall  be  impossible  to  us.  When  we  think  of  that  does 
it  not  make  us  feel  like  falling  down  on  our  faces,  and 
asking  the  Lord  to  forgive  our  unbelief?  If  you  have 
ever  exercised  that  living  faith,  you  will  know  what 
it  is  like.  When  my  dear  husband  was  dying  of  double 
pneumonia  in  1914,  and  we  were  standing  in  a  terrible 
battle  against  the  Devil,  Miss  Cody  said  that  God  gave 
her  faith  that  felt  within  her  like  a  solid  substance, 
and  after  that  her  faith  did  not  waver,  no  matter  how 
terrible  the  symptoms  were.  When  the  battle  for 
his  life  was  very  strong  the  Holy  Spirit  would  also 
rise  up  in  me  until  I  would  feel  the  presence  of  the 
almighty  Conqueror  beating  back  the  enemy.  It  was  a 


THE  SIN  OF  UNBELIEF  161 

mighty  battle,  but  oh,  what  a  glorious  victory !  In  the 
morning  of  the  day  of  the  manifest  healing,  my  hus- 
band was  apparently  dying,  but  we  gathered  around 
him  singing  praise  to  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  gave 
him  faith  to  rise  in  His  name.  He  called  for  his 
clothes,  and  dressed  with  the  assistance  of  the  nurse, 
and  that  very  day  he  was  so  fully  restored  that  he 
ate  three  lamb  chops  for  dinner.  God  promised  me 
that  the  testimony  (written  in  the  little  tract,  As 
Dying  and  Behold  we  Live)  should  go  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth  to  encourage  and  bless  His  children,  and  to 
bring  glory  to  His  name,  and  He  has  greatly  used  it. 
A  mustard  seed  has  life  in  it,  and  it  does  not  matter 
how  small  your  faith  seems  if  it  is  only  a  living  faith, 
inspired  by  the  blessed  Holy  Spirit.  A  living  faith 
can  break  down  every  kind  of  a  difficulty  or  obstacle, 
great  or  small,  mountains  or  mole  hills.  Be  sure  that 
you  are  wholly  obedient  to  God's  word  in  every  respect, 
and  this  living  faith  will  spring  up  in  your  heart. 

We  read  that  not  many  mighty  works  were  done 
in  one  place  by  our  Lord,  because  of  the  unbelief  of 
the  people,  and  if  Jesus  Himself  were  today  going 
about  on  this  earth,  there  are  many  localities  where 
many  mighty  works  could  not  be  done  by  Him  because 
of  unbelief.  Our  Lord  asked  the  question,  "When  the 
Son  of  Man  cometh  shall  He  find  faith  on  the  earth  ?" 
It  seems  that  comparatively  few  are  now  standing 
true  to  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  On  every  side  we  see 
one  cult  and  another  that  deny  the  Atonement  and  the 
precious  blood  of  Jesus.  Some  people  say  that  there 
are  healings  through  these  other  systems,  and  that  they 
"must  therefore  be  all  right,"  but  we  read  that  in  the 
Day  of  Judgment,  our  Lord  will  say  to  some  who  pro- 
fessed to  do  mighty  works,  in  His  name,  "I  never  knew 
you."  Beloved,  turn  away  from  all  teaching  that 
denies  the  atoning  blood,  for  God  has  said,  "Without 
shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission  of  sins." 

We  read  in  Heb.  11:6  that  God  says,  "without 
faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  Him."  Are  you  making 
apologies  for  your  unbelief?  Are  you  willing  to  dis- 
please God  ?  If  you  desire  to  please  Him  then  let  the 


1 62  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

Holy  Spirit  search  you  through  and  through,  and 
reveal  to  you  the  cause  of  your  unbelief.  Repent, 
and  obey  Him,  and  as  you  abide  in  the  Vine  the  life 
of  the  Vine  will  flow  into  the  branch.  We  need  to  let 
go  of  all  our  own  efforts,  and  fall  into  His  hands, 
saying,  "Dear  Lord,  after  all  it  is  Thou  who  must 
create  in  me  the  faith,  for  Thou  art  the  Author  and 
Finisher  of  my  faith/'  Frances  Havergal  said  in  one 
of  her  lovely  poems,  "For  I  both  may  and  must,  commit 
to  Him  my  very  trust."  If  you  are  hungering  and 
thirsting  after  God  today,  He  says  that  you  shall  be 
filled.  Beloved,  He  wants  you  to  tarry  before  Him 
until  you  are  "filled  with  the  Spirit."  He  says,  "know 
ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God  ?"  He  wants  to 
come  in  to  possess  His  temple,  spirit,  soul  and  body. 
It  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  living,  personal,  loving  Holy 
Ghost  who  shall  guide  us  into  all  truth.  It  is  the 
Holy  Spirit  who  ministers  to  us  all  that  Christ  has 
wrought  out  for  us  on  the  Cross.  He  ministers  to  us 
the  death  of  Christ,  and  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  He 
ministers  to  us  the  faith,  and  the  love  and  the  com- 
passion of  Christ.  He  ministers  to  our  whole  bodies 
the  healing  stripes  of  Jesus,  that  we  may  know  His 
health  and  life  for  our  physical  being.  He  wants  to 
minister  Christ  Himself  to  us,  and  through  us,  that 
we  may  become  living  epistles  of  our  Lord,  read  and 
known  of  all  men.  Not  to  be  anything  of  ourselves, 
but  to  be  like  the  electric  bulb  in  which  there  is  no 
light  of  itself,  but  when  the  electric  current  is  turned 
on  the  room  is  filled  with  light  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  that  same  little  bulb.  People  do  not  say, 
"How  wonderful  that  bulb  is,"  but  how  wonderful  is 
the  light ;  so  people  will  see  the  light  of  Jesus  shining 
through  us,  and  only  marvel  that  it  can  shine  through 
such  a  weak  little  instrument.  "We  have  this  treasure 
in  earthen  vessels,  that  the  excellency  of  the  power 
may  be  of  God,  and  not  of  us."  II  Cor.  4:7.  The 
light  of  the  Lord's  life,  and  the  glory  of  His  abiding 
presence  in  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  will  cast 
out  all  unbelief,  and  His  own  faith  will  be  exercised 
through  us  to  the  glory  of  the  Father, 


THE  LORD  MAKING  A  DIFFERENCE          163 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 
The  Lord  Making  a  Difference. 

When  we  had  an  All  Day  of  fasting  and  prayer 
recently,  Miss  Cody  brought  out  the  fact  that  the  Lord 
makes  a  difference  between  His  own  people  and  the 
people  of  the  world.  This  morning  I  looked  up  a 
number  of  Scriptural  references  on  this  important 
subject,  and  we  will  now  take  these  for  our  Bible 
Study. 

Turn  first  to  Ex.  8 122,  23.  Here  we  read  about  one 
of  the  plagues  of  Egypt.  God  had  said  that  He  would 
send  a  swarm  of  flies  upon  the  Egyptians,  and  as  God 
calls  them  "grievous/'  they  were  evidently  not  the 
ordinary  kind  of  flies.  We  also  read  of  God's  making 
a  difference,  for  He  said,  "I  will  sever  in  that  day 
the  land  of  Goshen,  in  which  My  people  dwell,  that 
no  swarms  of  flies  shall  be  there ;  to  the  end  that  thou 
mayest  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  in  the  midst  of  the 
earth.  And  I  will  put  a  division  between  My  people, 
and  thy  people ;  tomorrow  shall  this  sign  be.  And  the 
Lord  did  so,  and  there  came  a  grievous  swarm  of 
flies  into  the  house  of  Pharaoh/'  etc.  When  reading 
this  passage,  I  was  struck  with  the  thought  that  this 
"division"  between  God's  people,  and  the  people  of 
the  world  (typified  by  the  people  of  Egypt)  was  to 
be  a  SIGN  to  Pharaoh  that  he  might  know  that  Jeho- 
vah was  Lord  in  the  midst  of  the  earth.  I  believe  that 
if  all  of  God's  children  today  would  accept  the  prom- 
ises of  God,  so  that  He  could  cause  them  to  be  ex- 
empt from  this  plague  of  influenza,  it  would  be  a 
mighty  SIGN  to  the  people  of  the  world  at  this  time. 
But  many  of  God's  children  are  not  abiding  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Most  High,  and  are  therefore  not 
in  the  place  where  He  can  shelter  them  in  this  way. 
However,  we  believe  that  many  are  hearing  God  speak 
through  this  affliction,  and  are  humbling  themselves 


164  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

before  Him.  Notice  that  in  the  margin,  the  word 
division,  is  redemption — "I  will  put  a  redemption  be- 
tween My  people  and  thy  people."  How  blessed  this 
redemption  is  (the  blood  of  Jesus)  that  delivers  us 
from  all  the  power  of  the  enemy,  as  we  walk  in  obe- 
dience to  the  Spirit. 

Now  read  Ex.  9:4.  "And  the  Lord  shall  sever 
between  the  cattle  of  Israel,  and  the  cattle  of  Egypt, 
and  there  shall  nothing-  die  of  all  that  is  the  Children 
of  Israel's."  In  the  plague  that  was  sent  upon  the 
cattle,  God  made  a  division  between  those  that  be- 
longed to  His  people,  and  those  that  belonged  to  the 
Egyptians ;  and  we  may  by  faith  realize  this  difference, 
if  all  of  our  possessions  are  consecrated  to  the  Lord. 
When  Pharaoh  finally  told  Moses  that  he  could  go,  but 
he  must  leave  his  cattle  behind,  Moses  refused,  saying, 
"Our  cattle  also  shall  go  with  us;  there  shall  not  an 
hoof  be  left  behind;  for  thereof  must  we  take  to  serve 
the  Lord  our  God,  and  we  know  not  with  what  we 
must  serve  the  Lord  until  we  come  thither."  Moses 
practically  said,  We  do  not  know  what  the  Lord  will 
require  of  us  in  sacrifice,  so  we  must  take  ALL  of 
our  cattle.  Beloved,  if  we  hold  everything  consecrated 
unto  the  Lord,  our  possessions  as  well  as  ourselves, 
then  we  can  claim  God's  redemption  upon  all  that  we 
own,  because  we  hold  it  only  as  stewards,  subject  to 
His  call.  I  remember  when  a  cow  that  Mrs.  Kies 
owned  was  dying,  and  there  was  no  human  hope 
whatever.  The  cow  had  a  young  calf,  and  had  been 
paralyzed.  The  cow  lay  with  her  head  drawn  back, 
and  the  veterinary  surgeon  said  there  was  no  possible 
hope.  Other  men  in  the  neighborhood  also  said  the 
same.  Mrs.  Kies  said  to  the  Lord,  "The  milk  from 
this  cow  is  needed  to  feed  Thy  people  in  the  Home  of 
Peace."  The  Lord  answered  prayer  and  in  a  short 
time  the  cow  stood  up  (though  the  people  about  had 
said  she  would  never  stand  again),  and  the  healing 
was  instantaneous.  We  read  further  in  this  Qth 
Chapter,  "And  the  Lord  did  that  thing  on  the  morrow, 


THE  LORD  MAKING  A  DIFFERENCE          165 

and  of  the  cattle  of  the  Children  of  Israel  died  NOT 
ONE." 

Next,  we  will  turn  to  Ex.  10:23.  Here  we  read  of 
the  plague  of  darkness  which  was  so  terrible  that  it 
was  a  thick  darkness  that  could  be  felt,  and  no  one 
moved  from  his  place  for  three  days;  "but  all  the 
Children  of  Israel  had  light  in  their  dwellings."  Here 
again  the  Lord  made  a  difference ;  so  when  any  kind 
of  darkness  comes  over  the  land,  and  the  hearts  of  the 
people  begin  to  fear  and  faint,  there  need  be  no  dark- 
ness for  any  of  God's  little  trusting  ones;  they  may 
walk  in  the  light  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  may  lift  up 
theL  heads  and  rejoice  because  He  is  coming  soon. 

We  will  now  read  from  the  nth  chapter  of  Exodus. 
Here  we  have  the  account  of  the  last  plague  which 
came  upon  the  Egyptians,  when  all  the  firstborn  in  the 
land  of  Egypt  died,  "from  the  firstborn  of  Pharaoh 
that  sitteth  upon  his  throne,  even  unto  the  firstborn 
of  the  maid  servant  that  is  behind  the  mill ;  and  all 
the  firstborn  of  beasts."  There  was  a  great  cry 
throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt,  such  as  there  was 
none  like  it,  when  they  found  their  firstborn  dead. 
But  here  once  more  we  read  that  the  Lord  put  a  dif- 
ference, or  redemption,  for  God  had  said  to  Moses, 
"But  against  any  of  the  Children  of  Israel  shall  not 
a  dog  move  his  tongue,  against  a  man  or  beast;  that 
ye  may  know  how  that  the  Lord  doth  put  a  difference 
between  the  Egyptians  and  Israel."  We  see  from  the 
next  chapter  that  the  reason  for  this  difference  was 
because  of  the  slain  Passover  Lamb,  the  blood  af  which 
was  put  by  faith  upon  the  doors  of  the  houses  of  the 
Children  of  Israel.  "And  the  blood  shall  be  to  you  for 
a  token  upon  the  houses  where  ye  are:  and  when  I 
see  the  blood,  I  will  pass  over  you,  and  the  plague 
shall  not  be  upon  you,  to  destroy  you,  when  I  smite 
the  land  of  Egypt."  (Ex.  12 : 13.)  We  read  in  the  New 
Testament,  "Christ  our  Passover  is  sacrificed  for  us," 
so  we  may  by  faith  shelter  behind  His  blood,  in  these 
perilous  days,  when  the  judgments  of  God  are  abroad 
in  the  earth. 

Turn  to  Ex.  33  :i2-i§.    This  tells  us  of  God's  grief 


1 66  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

over  the  Children  of  Israel,  when  they  had  been  so 
hardhearted  and  disobedient,  and  had  even  made  the 
golden  calf,  and  He  said  He  would  disinherit  His 
people  and  make  of  Moses  a  greater  nation  than  they. 
"And  Moses  said  unto  the  Lord,  See,  Thou  sayest 
unto  me,  bring  up  this  people  and  Thou  has  not  let 
me  know  whom  Thou  wilt  send  with  me.  Yet  Thou 
hast  said  I  know  thee  by  name,  and  thou  hast  also 
found  grace  in  My  sight."  Now  this  is  the  answer 
of  Jehovah  to  Moses  (notice  it  carefully)  :  "And  He 
said  MY  PRESENCE  shall  go  with  thee,  and  I  will 
give  thee  rest/'  From  the  isth  and  i6th  verses  we  see 
that  Moses  realizes  that  the  Presence  of  the  Lord  is 
the  token  of  His  grace  toward  him  and  the  rest  of 
God's  people,  for  he  is  not  willing  to  go  up  without  the 
Presence  of  Jehovah  accompanying  them.  He  says, 
"For  wherein  shall  it  be  known  here  that  I  and  Thy 
people  have  found  grace  in  Thy  sight?  Is  it  not  in 
that  Thou  goest  with  us?  SO  shall  we  be  separated, 
I  and  Thy  people,  from  all  the  people  that  are  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth."  We  see  that  the  Presence  of  the 
Lord  with  us  is  what  separates  us  from  the  people 
of  the  world.  If  we  get  enough  of  God  in  us,  the 
world's  people  will  fall  away  from  us.  They  will  not 
try  to  come  and  talk  foolishness  and  unbelief  to  us, 
for  His  very  Presence  will  rebuke  them.  The  Pres- 
ence of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  revealed  to  us,  and  in  and 
through  us,  when  we  have  the  fullness  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  abiding  in  us.  Then  the  Lord  told  Moses, 
"I  will  do  this  thing  also  that  thou  hast  spoken;  for 
thou  hast  found  grace  in  My  sight,  and  I  know  thee 
by  name."  After  this  assurance  of  God's  continued 
grace  and  Presence,  Moses  says,  "I  beseech  Thee, 
show  me  Thy  GLORY."  (Verse  18.)  Thus  after  we 
have  experienced  the  grace  of  God,  we  must  press  on 
to  know  His  glory.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  One  who 
reveals  the  Lord  Jesus  to  us,  and  as  we  worship  Him 
in  union  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  He  will  show 
forth  more  and  more  of  our  Saviour's  glory,  and  we 
shall  know  that  the  anointing  abideth  (i  Jno.  3  -.27)  not 
only  because  of  the  manifestation  of  His  presence,  but 


THE  LORD  MAKING  A  DIFFERENCE          167 

because  of  the  truth  of  God's  Word,  on  which  we 
stand.  As  we  stand  by  faith  on  God's  Word,  He  can 
trust  us  with  manifestation,  until  we  shall  indeed  real- 
ize the  glory  that  excelleth.  Thus  shall  we  know,  as 
Moses  did,  not  only  our  Lord's  grace,  but  also  His 
glory. 

Now  read  Lev.  20:26.  "And  ye  shall  be  holy 
unto  Me;  for  I  the  Lord  am  holy,  and  have  severed 
you  from  other  people  that  ye  should  be  Mine."  It 
is  wonderful  to  realize  the  jealous  love  of  God.  We 
have  been  told  that  the  words,  "The  Spirit  lusteth  to 
envy"  may  be  translated,  "The  Spirit  loveth  to  jeal- 
ousy/' God  separates  us  from  others  that  we  may 
be  His.  He  says  that  our  land  shall  be  called  Beulah, 
which  means  Married;  He  wants  to  be  married  to 
His  own,  and  have  them  separated  unto  Himself. 
Then  we  shall  bring  forth  fruit  unto  holiness,  because 
the  Holy  One,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  continually 
lives  out  His  holy  life  in  us,  and  through  us,  and  all 
the  glory  is  His  own. 

The  91  st  Psalm  is  so  familiar  that  we  will  not 
stop  to  read  it  all,  but  we  will  look  at  verses  5-7 :  "Thou 
shalt  not  be  afraid  .  .  .  for  the  pestilence  that  walketh 
in  darkness;  nor  for  the  destruction  that  wasteth  at 
noonday.  A  thousand  shall  fall  at  thy  side,  and  ten 
thousand  at  thy  right  hand ;  but  it  shall  not  come  nigh 
thee"  Why?  We  see  the  reason  in  the  Qth  verse, 
"Because  thou  hast  made  the  Lord,  which  is  my 
refuge,  even  the  Most  High  thy  habitation ;  there  shall 
no  evil  befall  thee,  neither  shall  any  plague  come  nigh 
thy  dwelling."  Oh  but  you  say,  it  does  come  to  some 
Christians.  But  there  is  a  condition  in  the  first  verse 
of  this  Psalm ;  it  is  he  that  dwells  in  the  Secret  Place 
of  the  Most  High,  who  is  to  be  thus  protected.  WHO 
(not  what)  is  the  Secret  Place?  It  is  JESUS;  He 
is  the  Secret  Place  of  the  Most  High,  and  we  see  this 
same  thought  brought  out  by  the  Lord  Himself,  "If 
ye  abide  in  Me,  and  My  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall 
ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you."  (John 
15:7.)  We  must  love  His  words  so  that  they  shall 


1 68  SECRETS  OF  VICTORY. 

be  sweeter  to  us  than  honey  and  the  honey-comb,  and 
we  shall  esteem  them  more  than  our  necessary  food. 

Now  read  Mai.  3:17.  In  this  verse,  the  Lord 
speaks  of  making  up  His  jewels,  or  "special  treasure/' 
and  He  says  of  them,  "I  will  spare  them,  as  a  man 
spareth  his  own  son  that  serveth  him."  The  next 
chapter  tells  of  "the  day  that  cometh  that  shall  burn 
as  an  oven,  and  the  proud,  and  the  wicked  shall  be 
stubble  .  .  .  but  unto  you  that  fear  My  Name,  shall 
the  Sun  of  righteousness  arise  with  healing  in  His 
wings."  Here  again  we  see  the  difference  between 
the  righteous,  and  the  wicked.  In  the  perilous  days 
God  will  spare  those  who  love  and  serve  Him.  Notice 
the  terrible  fate  of  the  proud.  O  beloved,  pride  is 
an  awful  sin!  God  hates  all  kinds  of  pride.  The 
Word  tells  us  that  "God  resisteth  the  proud  and 
giveth  grace  unto  the  humble." 

There  is  a  sweet  picture  in  Mai.  3:16.  It  is  of 
those  who  fear  the  Lord,  and  speak  often  one  to  an- 
other; and  the  Lord  hearkened  and  heard  it,  and  a 
book  of  remembrance  was  written  before  Him  for 
them  that  feared  the  Lord,  and  that  thought  upon  His 
Name.''  As  we  talk  about  His  goodness  and  mercy  all 
the  day  long,  how  the  Lord  hearkens  with  delight. 

I  want  you  also  to  notice  that  God's  mercy  is  so 
great  that  sometimes  even  the  wicked  are  delivered 
when  the  righteous  pray  for  them.  At  three  different 
times,  during  the  plagues  which  were  sent  upon  the 
Egyptians,  Pharaoh  asked  Moses  and  Aaron  to  entreat 
the  Lord  for  him,  that  the  plague  should  be  taken 
away,  and  each  time  the  Lord  in  His  mercy  removed 
the  plague  which  was  then  afflicting  them.  It  was  only 
after  Pharaoh  hardened  his  heart  completely,  and  com- 
manded Moses,  under  penalty  of  death,  to  see  his  face 
no  more,  that  God  sent  the  final  judgment  of  the  death 
of  the  first-born. 


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